1 – How can a thing the existence of which is dependent on you be taken as a proof for your existence? Is there anything more evident than your “self” disclose you? Are you hidden to need a guide to find you? Surely you are not. Are you far-away to need your footprints to find you? Surely you are not! Blind may the eyes be which do not see you watching and guarding your “self” (Arafa prayer; Bihar al- Anwar, Vol. 98 , P. 226)

2 – He who has you , has everything , and he who has deprived himself of you is the poorest in the world. Loser is the one who chooses and be content with anyone or anything other than you. (Bihar al- Anwar, Vol. 98 , P. 228)

3 – Never will be salvaged the people who win the consent of the creature at the cost of the dissatisfaction of the creator. (Maktal Khawarazmi , Vol. 1 , P. 239)

4 – No one will feel secured on the Resurrection Day except those who feared God in this world. (Bihar al- Anwar, Vol. 44 , P. 192)

5 – The Almighty God said : “The believing men and the believing women , they are guardians of each other , enjoin good and forbid evil… “God attaches primary importance to enjoining good and forbidding evil ” as a duty for men and women. For he knows that if it were fulfilled all the other duties , easy or hard , will be accomplished. That is because “enjoining good and forbidding evil” is a call for Islam , it regains the rights of the oppressed and opposes tyrants. (Tohaf-al- Uqoul , P. 237)

6 – O’ people , the Messenger of God said : Whoever sees an aggressive tyrant legalizes the forbiddens of God , breeches divine laws , opposes the tradition of the Prophet , oppresses the worshippers of God , but does not concede his opposition to God in word or in deed , surely Allah will place that tyrant ( in the Hell ) where he deserves. (Maktal Khawarazmi , Vol. 1 , P. 234)

7 – People are slaves to the world , and as long as they live favorable and comfortable lives , they are loyal to religious principles. However , at hard times , the times of trials , true religious people are scarce. (Bihar al- Anwar, Vol. 78 , P. 117)

8 – One who pursues a goal through sinful ways , will ironically distance himself from that goal , and will approach what he was afraid of. (Bihar al- Anwar, Vol. 78 , P. 120)

9 – Don’t you see that the right is not conveyed and the wrong is not prohibited. Let believers wish to die and righteously meet their God. (Bihar al- Anwar, Vol. 78 , P. 117)

10 – Your difficulties are worse than others , because you were deprived of the rank of the scholars – considering your legitimacy and merit -(These difficulties are) because administering the affairs of the society and conveying the ( religious ) rules must be done by scholars who truly believe in God and know what is permitted and what is forbidden by God. But you were deprived from this position and rank for you withdrew from (supporting) the truth. You changed the tradition of the prophet ,despite the clear and disclosed proofs. If you had withstood and were patient against the torture and annoyance ( of the tyrants ) for the sake of God , then the divine affairs would have stayed in your hands , and you were the ones to whom would be referred. But you made the tyrants dominant on you and left the divine affairs in their hands, while they shamelessly do the forbidden and notoriously live a licentious life. Your (fear) from death and attachment to this world have encouraged the tyrants to establish dominance over you. (Tohaf-al- Uqoul , P. 238)

The question of whether there is a life after death is not an issue of scientific concern, for science only deals with the classification and analysis of sense data. While man has been conducting scientific inquiries and research, in the modern sense of the term, for only the last few centuries, he has been familiar with the concept of life after death since time immemorial.

All of the prophets sent by God for the benefit of humanity called upon their people to worship God and to believe in life after death. They laid so much emphasis on this last belief that even a slight doubt about its reality was considered a sign of denying both God and all other beliefs. The very fact that they have dealt with this metaphysical question of life after death so confidently and so uniformly, despite the fact that they appeared over thousands of years and in different places, proves that the source of their knowledge about this reality was one and the same: divine revelation. We also know that these prophets of God were opposed strongly by their people on this very issue, as many considered it impossible. Despite such opposition, however, the prophets were able to convince many people of its truth.This raises the following question: what made those followers forsake the established beliefs, traditions and customs of their forefathers notwithstanding the risk of being totally alienated from their own community?

The simple answer is: they analyzed the issue with their minds and hearts and came gradually to the realization that the prophets were speaking the truth. Did they realize the truth through perceptual consciousness? No, for a perceptual experience of life after death is impossible. What they used was their rational, aesthetic, and moral consciousness, which God has given to every individual in addition to a perceptual consciousness. These additional faculties guides an individual through those realities that cannot be verified by sensory data. That is why all prophets of God appeal to the aesthetic, moral, and rational consciousness of man when discussing metaphysical matters. For example, when the idolaters of Makkah denied even the possibility of life after death, the Qur'an exposed the weakness of their stand by advancing very logical and rational arguments in support of it:"And he has coined for us similitude, and has forgotten the fact of his creation, saying:

Who will revive these bones when they have rotted away? Say: He will revive them who produced them at the first, for He is the knower of every creation, Who has appointed for you fire from the green tree, and behold, you kindle from it. Is not He who created the heavens and the earth, able to create the like of them? Yes, and He is indeed the Supreme Creator, the All-knowing". (36: 78-81)

In another verse, the Qur'an says very clearly that non believers do not have a sound basis for their denial of life after death. It is based on pure conjecture:"They say, There is nothing but our present life; we die, and we live, and nothing but Time destroys us. Of that they have no knowledge; they merely conjecture. And when our revelations are recited to them, their only argument is that they say, 'Bring us our fathers, if you speak truly"/ (45:2425)".

Surely God will raise all those who have died, but only when He chooses to do so. A day will come when the whole universe will be destroyed and then the dead will be resurrected to stand before God. This day will be the beginning of the life that will never end, and on that day every person will be rewarded by God according to his or her good or evil deeds. This day is called the Day of Judgment.

The Qur'an states that there will be a life after death because the moral consciousness of mankind demands it. If there is no life after death, any belief God Himself becomes irrelevant. Furthermore, such a situation would mean that God is unjust and indifferent, for how could He create mankind and then lose interest in His creation? As God is just,those people who have committed crimes must be punished. All of those tyrants whohave killed scores of innocent persons, unleashed great corruption and evil within their societies, enslaved their people to serve their whims, and other terrible deeds must be brought to justice.

As man's life is so short and the world is not eternal, true justice can only be meted out in the afterlife, which will have none of these limitations. The Qur'an states that the Day of Judgment must come and that God will decide the fate of each soul according to his or her record of deeds:

"Those who disbelieve say: The Hour will never come unto us.' Say: Nay by my Lord but it is coming unto you surely' (He is) the Knower of the Unseen. Not an atom's weight, or less than that or greater, escapes Him in the heavens or in the earth, but it is in a clear record, that He may reward those who believe and do good works. For them is pardon and a rich provision. But those who strive against Our revelations, challenging Us, theirs will be a painful doom of wrath." (34:3-5)

The Day of Resurrection will be the manifestation of God's justice and mercy. He will shower His mercy on those who suffered during their lives for His sake, believing that eternal bliss was awaiting them. Those who abused the bounties of God and did not care about the life to come will be in the most miserable state. Drawing a comparison between them, the Qur'an says:

"Is he, then, to whom we have promised a goodly promise the fulfillment of which he will meet, like the one whom We have provided with the good things of this life, and then on the Day of Resurrection he will be of those who will be brought arraigned before God?" (28:61)

The Qur'an also states that this worldly life is a preparation for the eternal life after death.

But those who deny it become slaves of their passions and desires and make fun of virtuous and God-conscious persons. Such persons realize their folly only at the time of their death, a time when their wish to be given a further return to this life and make amends will be in vain. Their miserable state at the time of death, the horror of the Day of Judgment, and the eternal bliss guaranteed to sincere believers are presented very clearly and powerfully in the Qur'an:

"Until, when death comes unto one of them, he says, 'My Lord send me back, that I may do right in that which I have left : behind. ~ But nay! It is but a word that he speaks; and behind : t hem is a barrier until the day when they are raised. And when the Trumpet is blown there will be no kinship among them that day nor will they ask of one another Then those whose scales are heavy, they are successful. And those whose scales are light are those who lose their souls, in hell abiding, the fire burns their faces and they are alum therein." (23: 99- 104)

The belief in life after death guarantees success in the Hereafter and also makes this world a place of peace and happiness by transforming people into individuals who are more responsible and dutiful in their activities.

Consider the example of the people who lived in the Arabian peninsula before the appearance of the Prophet Muhammad. They were great lovers of gambling, wine, tribal feuds, plundering, and murdering. As they had no concept of an afterlife, why not enjoy themselves as they saw fit? But as soon as they accepted the belief in the One God and an afterlife, they became a very disciplined nation. They gave up their vices, helped each other when requested to do so, and settled all their disputes on the basis of justice and equality.

The denial of life after death also has consequences in this world. When an entire nation denies belief in the afterlife, all kinds of evils and corruption are unleashed and the society is set on the path to ultimate destruction. The Qur'an mentions the terrible end of such pre-Islamic peoples as the Aad, the Thamud, and the Pharaoh of ancient Egypt:

"(The tribes of) Thamud and 'Aad disbelieved in the judgment to come. As for Thamud, they were destroyed by the lightning and as for 'Aad, they were destroyed by a fierce roaring wind, which He imposed on them for seven long nights and eight long days so that you might see the people laid prostrate in it as if they were the stumps of fallen down palm trees. Now do you see a remnant of them? Pharaoh likewise and those before him, and the subverted dines. They committed errors and they rebelled against the Messenger of their Lord, and He seized them with a surpassing grip. Lo, when the waters rose, We bore you in the running ship that We might make it a reminder for you and for heeding ears to hold. So when the [trumpet is blown with a single blast and the earth and the mountains are lifted up and crushed with a single blow, then on that day the [error shall come to pass, and the heavens shall be split for upon that day it shall be very frail. Then as or him who is given his book in his right hand, he shall say: Here, take and read my book! Certainly I thought that I should encounter my reckoning' So he shall be in a pleasing life in a lofty garden, its clusters nigh together 'Eat and drink with wholesome appetite for that you did long ago, in the days gone by.' But as for him who is given his book in his left hand, he shall say: -Would that I had not been given my book and not known my reckoning! Would that it had been the end. My wealth has not availed me, my authority is gone from me." (69: 439)

There are very convincing reasons to believe in life after death.First: All the prophets of God have called their people to believe in it.Second: Whenever a society is built on the basis of this belief, it has been the most ideal and peaceful society, free of social and moral evils.

Third: History bears witness that whenever this belief has been rejected collectively by a group of people in spite of the repeated warning of the prophet, the group as a whole has been punished by God even in this world.

Fourth: The moral, aesthetic, and rational faculties of man endorse the possibility of life after death.

Fifth: God's attributes of justice and mercy have no meaning if there is no life after death.

Hijaab of Body to put outer garments when going out:O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their body (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Al_Quraan_033.059)

Relatives and Friends need each other:O ye who believe! let those whom your right hands possess, and the (children) among you who have not come of age ask your permission (before they come to your presence), on three occasions:

before morning prayer; the while ye doff your clothes for the noonday heat; and after the late-night prayer: these are your three times of undress: outside those times it is not wrong for you or for them to move about attending to each other: Thus does Allah make clear the Signs to you: for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom. And when the children among you have attained to puberty, let them seek permission as those before them sought permission; thus does Allah make clear to you His communications, and Allah is knowing, Wise. And (as for) women advanced in years who do not hope for a marriage, it is no sin for them if they put off their clothes without displaying their ornaments; and if they restrain themselves it is better for them; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.(Al_Quraan_024.058-060)

There is no blame on the blind man, nor is there blame on the lame, nor is there blame on the sick, nor on yourselves that you eat from your houses, or your fathers' houses or your mothers' houses, or your brothers' houses, or your sisters' houses, or your paternal uncles' houses, or your paternal aunts' houses, or your maternal uncles' houses, or your maternal aunts' houses, or what you possess the keys of, or your friends' (houses). It is no sin in you that you eat together (including JOINTFAMILY- SYSTEM which may help saving lots of expenditure) or separately. So when you enter houses, greet your people with a salutation from Allah, blessed (and) goodly; thus does Allah make clear to you the communications that you may understand. (Al_Quraan_024:061)

Remember: Build your Sweet Home to not only smell good but also taste sweet as well, which can only be done through positive attitudes. A father would never like to see his sons living separately in his life, and prefer to live in a joint-family-system along with his grand children, if all can afford with positive attitudes. A JOINT-FAMILY-SYSTEM may help save lots of expenditures, if you all havepositive attitudes. Wish you all the best. AMEEN.

There are number of healths and moral benefits that wearing the veil can provide the moral duty of wearing the veil (Hijaab) in Islam is an Often-discussed topic among Muslim women. However, little has been written about scientific reasons that the veil is beneficial for society. There are, in fact, a number of health benefits that wearing the veil can provide, as well as many behavioural science studies that suggest that the Veil is the best attire (clothes) for women.Protecting the head is very important from a health perspective. Results Of medical tests show that 40-60% of body heat is lost through the head, so persons wearing head coverings during cold months are protected about Fifty-percent more than those who do not. Chinese & Muslim medical texts take this concept even further. In the Hua Di Nei Jing (The Yellow Emperor's Classic on Internal Medicine), wind is said to cause sudden changes within the body, & shaking, swaying, & Other movements that potentially upset the body's equilibrium; thus, creating bad health.These texts attribute the common cold to wind elements entering the body & causing the typical symptoms of sneezing & a Runny nose. In the traditional Islamic medical texts of Al Jawziyya, we can find numerous references to the "four elements" of fire, water, air, & earth, & How these affect the body in adverse ways. In particular, we are advised to stay away from drafts & to protect our heads in wind, breezes, drafts, & Cold weather.

All outdoor workers should wear some sort of head covering:For this reason; protecting the head is even more important in warm weather. V.G. Rocine, a prominent brain research specialist, has found that brain Phosphorus melts at 108 degrees; a temperature that can be easily reached if one stays under the hot sun for any length of time without a head covering. When this happens, irreversible brain damage, memory loss & loss of some brain functions can result. Although this example is extreme, Brain damage can still be measured in small degrees from frequent exposure to & overheating of the head. Bernard Jensen, a naturopath & chiropractor, States that this is because the brain runs on the mineral phosphorus, which is very affected by heat.

Hygienic Purposes:All public should wear a veil or head-covering Workers serving society to ensure cleanliness & purity.Workers in a Number of professions wears "veils" - nurses, fast food workers, and deli Counter workers, restaurant workers & servers, doctors, health care Providers, & many more. In fact, when we compare the number of workers who cover their heads to the number who do not, we find that more people Probably cover their heads than do not.

Social Influence:Aside from personal & public health benefits of the Veil, it has numerous other benefits to society. In analysing visual data, Ball & Smith discuss the acknowledgement of sociologists that visual representations are influential in shaping people's views of the world & their interpretations of life.Men use visual data to interpret their relationships with the women around them.Many studies have found that when a person tries to rewire there instinctual perceptions, they are usually only rewired on the surface; their original perceptions still exist on some level. Brain studies show that we exist in a world of constantly varying light variables that force the brain to perform what is called "lateral inhibition" consequently, it provides us with a "steady" image as opposed to a "true" image of what we see.Furthermore, lateral inhibition networks operate as part of the "Unconscious" brain; largely, without providing any information to the "Conscious" part of the brain about what they are doing. Therefore, the brain can provide varying perceptions of the world without our even being fully conscious of what it is processing.Further studies cited in Encyclopedia Britannica show that how a female presents herself to society falls under the category of ritualised behaviour through which animals provide specific information to other animals, usually members of its own species. Virtually all-higher animals, Including humans, use displays to some extent to do this, & the best known displays are visual ones.Some biologists actually restrict the term display to refer to visual signals or gestures. These visual signals, which in animals can be simply a bright colour or plume, encourage attraction. In humans, they are usually exhibited in ornamental hair, make up, or clothing.In our society, most of the time attractive hairstyles & clothing are worn for the purpose of making the adorner more attractive (advertising & Television has institutionalised this reality). The ever-changing variations in fashion tend to affect the brain because it typically has trouble constantly adjusting to changing shadows & forms in the world.Reasonably then, through "lateral inhibition," the brain automatically simplifies these images into the unconscious message that attractive hair & clothing is meant to attract. Joining these two concepts together, we can see how the human male could receive the signal of "attraction" from the brain before he has enough time to "block" it by "lowering his gaze." Having to re-form an image already processed by the lateral inhibition network is a cause of stress for most people. Doing this day after day, after seeing many "displays," potentially causes a great cumulative stress on society. Having to re-form an image already processed by the lateral inhibition network is a cause of stress for most people. Doing this day after day, after seeing many "displays," potentially causes a great cumulative stress on society.Present day stresses arise from many things; among these are the vast amounts of visual & physical input we are bombarded with in this "Information age" of personal freedom. The problem we face in this is that the body still continues to respond in the same fashion as during primitive times, releasing large amounts of these hormones, which can be very harmful. They can cause an increase in blood pressure, damage muscle tissue, lead to infertility, inhibit growth, damage the hippocampus, & suppress the immune system.The two most effective solutions to this problem are, first, to convince the advertising industry, & society as a whole, to alter the presentation of women to our males. The second & more viable way is to simply influence women to dress modestly, which will help ensure that they do not send inappropriate visual signals to men.

Female Psychological Balance:Last, but not least, covering the hair can also have a beneficial effect on the female psyche as well.Studies of women being interviewed for jobs show that there is a high correlation between what they wear & their perceptions of how successful they will be in their interviews. There are many more examples of how what we wear can Influence how we act.Wearing a veil can serve to remind women of their religious duties & behavioural expectations.It can also serve as a reminder to women that we are not only individuals, but also representatives & diplomats of our "Ummah."

Ramadan is a very serious holiday for Muslim Ummah, taking place during the ninth month of the Islamic holidays. Celebrants fast during the day and pray frequently, meditating upon the nature of faith and Allah. It is traditional to make gifts of alms and food to the poor during Ramadan, and to abstain from sins. The holiday can be very challenging, as it requires self-sacrifice and personal discipline. Ramadan officially ends when the crescent moon of the 10th month in the Islamic calender is sighted, marking the start of Eid ul-Fitr.

In Arabic, Eid means “festival,” and Fitr means “breaking the fast,” so Eid ul-Fitr is literally a festival for breaking the fast. After the intense religious introspection and fasting of Ramadan, Muslim Ummah take Eid as an opportunity to have fun, celebrate their faith, and enjoy the company of friends and family. The festival may also get quite chaotic, with fireworks, and distributions of presents to friends and neighbors.

For Eid ul-Fitr, families cleanse themselves in the morning, eat a small meal, and then attend prayer at a mosque. By tradition, celebrants offer alms to the mosque for distribution to the poor before the start of Eid prayers; these alms are known as Zakat ul-Fitr. After prayer and a sermon, the festivities of Eid ul-Fitr begin, with celebrants typically visiting each other in their finest clothes to exchange gifts and commemorate friendship. Eid is also a traditional time for forgiveness and reconciliations.

Since Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, feasting is an important part of this Muslim holiday. There are no universally traditional Eid foods, but the holiday typically includes rich foods which may not have been eaten during Ramadan, along with elaborate regional or family recipes. Invitations to parties and dinners are common during Eid ul-Fitr, and people often take the day off from work to spend time celebrating.

1.Eat, drink and be moderate Almost all of us do it - once Iftar time hits, we just keep plowing food and drink into our mouths till it's hard to move afterwards. And those of us who do it know this is totally contrary to the spirit of Ramadan, through which we're supposed to learn self-control not self-indulgence. Let's try to stick to the Prophetic rule on eating: fill our stomachs with one-third food, one-third water and one-third breathing space, even in Ramadan.

2.Give a dollar a day in charity...or five or ten The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was always generous but even more so in Ramadan. Let's open our hearts and dig a little deeper in our wallets this year. Even less than a dollar a day adds up. Whatever you can give, it's the intention that counts.

3.Memorize 4 new Surahs Memorizing the Quran often seems like a daunting task. But the key is doing it in small bites. Since there are four weeks in Ramadan, try to memorize one new Surah a week. Start off with a short, easy one. Once you've started, you'll build momentum and may even want to memorize a longer one the following week.

4.Go to Tarawih prayers Post-Iftar, the first urge is to sleep after an exhausting day. But try your best to head out to the mosque for Tarawih prayers. Praying alone is wonderful, but doing it in congregation is fantastic. The community spirit is part of Ramadan's blessings. Don't miss it this year. If going every day is not possible, try going at least one week.

5.Attend the Tarawih prayer in which the recitation of the Quran will be finished Call the local mosque and find out which day the Imam will be finishing the recitation of the Quran in prayer. Attend to not only hear part of the Quran's recitation in prayer, but also participate in the heart-rending Duas that follow it.

6.Stop swearing and/or backbiting â€“ with a special box It's hard not to shoot our mouths off when someone's upset us. Whether we utter those four-letter words or backbite about someone to our family and friends, we know this isn't the God-approved way of letting off steam. In Ramadan, when we want to build our spirituality, we've got to wage Jihad against our bad habits. Try this: get a box and every time you catch yourself swearing or backbiting put some money in it. It could be a buck or less. The point is to choose an amount that makes it feel like punishment. At the end of the month send the money to a charity or buy a gift for the person whom you've backbitten the most against.

7.Call/email your relatives You'd think that given the easy access to email, competitive long-distance calling rates, phone cards, etc. these days, we'd keep in touch with family and friends more often. But the opposite seems to be the case, as we get caught up in life's "busyness." Strengthening ties with family members and keeping in touch with friends is part of our way of life and an act Allah is very pleased with. This Ramadan, call family and friends or at least email them a Ramadan card and ask them how their fasting is going.

8.Go on a technology diet Even if you work in the IT industry, you can do this. Avoid checking personal email and surfing the web during your fast. After Iftar, instead of plopping yourself in front of the screen, go to Tarawih. The same goes for the television. The point is to try to give our full attention to spiritual elevation this month.

9.Read 5 minutes of Quran a day...just five, not more, not less Even if you feel you've got absolutely no time, set a timer or the alarm on your cell phone and find a relatively quiet place. You can read the first page of the Quran you open or follow a sequence. The choice is yours. The point is simply to connect with God through His revelation in the month of the Quran.

10.Forgive everyone who has hurt you Still got a festering wound from the fight with your friend last year? Still upset about something your spouse said during a heated argument? Or are you still bitter about the way your parents sometimes treated you as a kid? Let go of the anger and pain this Ramadan and forgive those who have hurt you. Forgiving someone is not only good for the body, but it's also great for the soul. And in Ramadan, ten days of which are devoted to Allah's forgiveness, shouldn't we lesser beings forgive too? If you find it very difficult to forgive everyone, forgive at least three people.

Month of Shaban is the 8th month in the Islamic calendar and is considered one of the meritorious months for which we find particular instructions in the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The Arabic word Sha`ban is derived from the word ‘tash`aba’, which means "to go in different directions." It is said that Sha`ban takes such a name because the Arabs used to go in different directions fighting their enemies.

It is reported that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), used to fast most of the month in Shaban except the last few days of the month. These fasts are supererogatory (nafl). Shaban is the month immediately preceding the month of Ramadan.

1. The blessed companion Usama ibn Zaid , reports that he asked Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) : "Messenger of Allah, I have seen you fasting in the month of Shaban so frequently that I have never seen you fasting in any other month." Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), replied: "That (Shaban) is a month between Rajab and Ramadan which is neglected by many people. And it is a month in which an account of the deeds (of human beings) is presented before the Lord of the universe, so, I wish that my deeds be presented at a time when I am in a state of fasting."

2. Ummul Mu'mineen 'Aishah (r), says, "Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) ,used to fast for most of Shaban. I said to him, 'Messenger of Allah, is Shaban your favorite month for fasting?' He said, 'In this month Allah prescribes the list of the persons dying this year. Therefore, I like that my death comes when I am in a state of fasting.' "

These reports indicate that fasting in the month of Shaban, though not obligatory but is very deserving and that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) did not like to miss it.

(A) Oneness of the Lordship of Allah ; Tauhid-ar-Rububiyah : To believe that there is only one Lord for all the universe its Creator, Organizer, Planner, Sustainer, and the Giver of security, etc., and that is Allah.

(B) Oneness of the Worship of Allah ; Tauhid-al-Uluhiya : To believe that none has the right to be worshiped [ e.g. praying, invoking, asking for help (from the unseen), swearing, slaughtering sacrifices, giving charity, fasting, pilgrimage, etc. ] but Allah.

(C) Oneness of the Names and the Qualities of Allah ;Tauhid-al-Asma was-Sifat : To believe that :

(i) We must not name or qualify Allah except with what He or His Messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him), has named or qualified Him,

(ii) None can be named or qualified with the Names or Qualifications of Allah ; e.g. AL-Kareem,

(iii) We must confirm all of Allah's Qualification which Allah has stated in His Book (the Qur'an) or mentioned throuhg His Messenger ( Muhammad ) without changing them or ignoring them completely or twisting the meanings or giving resemblance to any of the craeted things [ e.g. Allah is present over His Throne as mentioned in the Qur'an (20:5) :- " The Most Beneficent (Allah) Istawa (rose over) the (Mighty) Throne " over the seventh heaven ; and He only comes down over the first (nearest) heaven to us on the day of Arafat (the 9th of Dhul-Hijja), and also during the last third part of the night as mentioned by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), but He is with us by His Knowledge only, not by His Personal-Self (Bi-Dhatihi).

Also Allah said : " There is nothing like unto Him and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer " (42:11)

This holy Verse confirms the quality of hearing and the quality of sight for Allah without resemblance to others, and likewise He also said :

" To one whom I have created with Both My Hands," (38:75)

" The Hand of Allah is over their hands " (48:10)

This confirms two Hands for Allah, but there is no similarity for them. This is the Faith of all true believers, and was the Faith of all the Prophets of Allah, from Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Christ till the last of the Prophets , Muhammad (peace beupon them all) . [ It is not like as some people think that Allah is present everywhere--here, there and even inside the braests of men ] .

# These three aspects of TAUHID are included in the meaning of La ilaha ill-Allah ( none has the right to be worshiped but Allah ) .

# It is also essential to follow Allah's Messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him) : Wajub al-Itteba'a and it is a part of Tauhid-al-Uluhiyah .

This is included in the meaning, " I testify that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is Allah's Messenger," and this means, "None has the right to be followed after Allah's Book (the Qur'an), but Allah's Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him)," .

Allah said :

" And whatsoever the Messenger ( Muhammad) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain from it " (59:7) .

" Say ( O Muhammad to mankind ), If you (really) love Allah then follow me [ i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah (legal ways of the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him), ], Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. "(3:31) .

Life After DeathThe question of whether there is a life after death is not an issue of scientific concern, for science only deals with the classification and analysis of sense data. While man has been conducting scientific inquiries and research, in the modern sense of the term, for only the last few centuries, he has been familiar with the concept of life after death since time immemorial.All of the prophets sent by God for the benefit of humanity called upon their people to worship God and to believe in life after death. They laid so much emphasis on this last belief that even a slight doubt about its reality was considered a sign of denying both God and all other beliefs. The very fact that they have dealt with this metaphysical question of life after death so confidently and so uniformly, despite the fact that they appeared over thousands of years and in different places, proves that the source of their knowledge about this reality was one and the same: divine revelation. We also know that these prophets of God were opposed strongly by their people on this very issue, as many considered it impossible. Despite such opposition, however, the prophets were able to convince many people of its truth.This raises the following question: what made those followers forsake the established beliefs, traditions and customs of their forefathers notwithstanding the risk of being totally alienated from their own community?The simple answer is: they analyzed the issue with their minds and hearts and came gradually to the realization that the prophets were speaking the truth. Did they realize the truth through perceptual consciousness? No, for a perceptual experience of life after death is impossible. What they used was their rational, aesthetic, and moral consciousness, which God has given to every individual in addition to a perceptual consciousness. These additional faculties guides an individual through those realities that cannot be verified by sensory data. That is why all prophets of God appeal to the aesthetic, moral, and rational consciousness of man when discussing metaphysical matters. For example, when the idolaters of Makkah denied even the possibility of life after death, the Qur'an exposed the weakness of their stand by advancing very logical and rational arguments in support of it:"And he has coined for us similitude, and has forgotten the fact of his creation, saying:Who will revive these bones when they have rotted away? Say: He will revive them who produced them at the first, for He is the knower of every creation, Who has appointed for you fire from the green tree, and behold, you kindle from it. Is not He who created the heavens and the earth, able to create the like of them? Yes, and He is indeed the Supreme Creator, the All-knowing". (36: 78-81)In another verse, the Qur'an says very clearly that non believers do not have a sound basis for their denial of life after death. It is based on pure conjecture:"They say, There is nothing but our present life; we die, and we live, and nothing but Time destroys us. Of that they have no knowledge; they merely conjecture. And when our revelations are recited to them, their only argument is that they say, 'Bring us our fathers, if you speak truly"/ (45:2425)".Surely God will raise all those who have died, but only when He chooses to do so. A day will come when the whole universe will be destroyed and then the dead will be resurrected to stand before God. This day will be the beginning of the life that will never end, and on that day every person will be rewarded by God according to his or her good or evil deeds. This day is called the Day of Judgment.The Qur'an states that there will be a life after death because the moral consciousness of mankind demands it. If there is no life after death, any belief God Himself becomes irrelevant. Furthermore, such a situation would mean that God is unjust and indifferent, for how could He create mankind and then lose interest in His creation? As God is just,those people who have committed crimes must be punished. All of those tyrants whohave killed scores of innocent persons, unleashed great corruption and evil within their societies, enslaved their people to serve their whims, and other terrible deeds must be brought to justice.As man's life is so short and the world is not eternal, true justice can only be meted out in the afterlife, which will have none of these limitations. The Qur'an states that the Day of Judgment must come and that God will decide the fate of each soul according to his or her record of deeds:"Those who disbelieve say: The Hour will never come unto us.' Say: Nay by my Lord but it is coming unto you surely' (He is) the Knower of the Unseen. Not an atom's weight, or less than that or greater, escapes Him in the heavens or in the earth, but it is in a clear record, that He may reward those who believe and do good works. For them is pardon and a rich provision. But those who strive against Our revelations, challenging Us, theirs will be a painful doom of wrath." (34:3-5)The Day of Resurrection will be the manifestation of God's justice and mercy. He will shower His mercy on those who suffered during their lives for His sake, believing that eternal bliss was awaiting them. Those who abused the bounties of God and did not care about the life to come will be in the most miserable state. Drawing a comparison between them, the Qur'an says:"Is he, then, to whom we have promised a goodly promise the fulfillment of which he will meet, like the one whom We have provided with the good things of this life, and then on the Day of Resurrection he will be of those who will be brought arraigned before God?" (28:61)The Qur'an also states that this worldly life is a preparation for the eternal life after death.But those who deny it become slaves of their passions and desires and make fun of virtuous and God-conscious persons. Such persons realize their folly only at the time of their death, a time when their wish to be given a further return to this life and make amends will be in vain. Their miserable state at the time of death, the horror of the Day of Judgment, and the eternal bliss guaranteed to sincere believers are presented very clearly and powerfully in the Qur'an:"Until, when death comes unto one of them, he says, 'My Lord send me back, that I may do right in that which I have left : behind. ~ But nay! It is but a word that he speaks; and behind : t hem is a barrier until the day when they are raised. And when the Trumpet is blown there will be no kinship among them that day nor will they ask of one another Then those whose scales are heavy, they are successful. And those whose scales are light are those who lose their souls, in hell abiding, the fire burns their faces and they are alum therein." (23: 99- 104)The belief in life after death guarantees success in the Hereafter and also makes this world a place of peace and happiness by transforming people into individuals who are more responsible and dutiful in their activities.Consider the example of the people who lived in the Arabian peninsula before the appearance of the Prophet Muhammad. They were great lovers of gambling, wine, tribal feuds, plundering, and murdering. As they had no concept of an afterlife, why not enjoy themselves as they saw fit? But as soon as they accepted the belief in the One God and an afterlife, they became a very disciplined nation. They gave up their vices, helped each other when requested to do so, and settled all their disputes on the basis of justice and equality.The denial of life after death also has consequences in this world. When an entire nation denies belief in the afterlife, all kinds of evils and corruption are unleashed and the society is set on the path to ultimate destruction. The Qur'an mentions the terrible end of such pre-Islamic peoples as the Aad, the Thamud, and the Pharaoh of ancient Egypt:"(The tribes of) Thamud and 'Aad disbelieved in the judgment to come. As for Thamud, they were destroyed by the lightning and as for 'Aad, they were destroyed by a fierce roaring wind, which He imposed on them for seven long nights and eight long days so that you might see the people laid prostrate in it as if they were the stumps of fallen down palm trees. Now do you see a remnant of them? Pharaoh likewise and those before him, and the subverted dines. They committed errors and they rebelled against the Messenger of their Lord, and He seized them with a surpassing grip. Lo, when the waters rose, We bore you in the running ship that We might make it a reminder for you and for heeding ears to hold. So when the [trumpet is blown with a single blast and the earth and the mountains are lifted up and crushed with a single blow, then on that day the [error shall come to pass, and the heavens shall be split for upon that day it shall be very frail. Then as or him who is given his book in his right hand, he shall say: Here, take and read my book! Certainly I thought that I should encounter my reckoning' So he shall be in a pleasing life in a lofty garden, its clusters nigh together 'Eat and drink with wholesome appetite for that you did long ago, in the days gone by.' But as for him who is given his book in his left hand, he shall say: -Would that I had not been given my book and not known my reckoning! Would that it had been the end. My wealth has not availed me, my authority is gone from me." (69: 439)There are very convincing reasons to believe in life after death.First: All the prophets of God have called their people to believe in it.Second: Whenever a society is built on the basis of this belief, it has been the most ideal and peaceful society, free of social and moral evils.Third: History bears witness that whenever this belief has been rejected collectively by a group of people in spite of the repeated warning of the prophet, the group as a whole has been punished by God even in this world.Fourth: The moral, aesthetic, and rational faculties of man endorse the possibility of life after death.Fifth: God's attributes of justice and mercy have no meaning if there is no life after death.

Islam At A Glance (jhalk)Islam and MuslimsThe Arabic word Islam means peace, submission and obedience. The religion of Islam is the complete acceptance of the teachings and guidance of God as revealed to His Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). A Muslim is one who believes in God and strives for total reorganization of his life according to His revealed guidance and the sayings zf the Prophet. He also works for building human society on the same basis. "Muhammadanism is a misnomer for Islam and offends its very spirit. The word 'Allah' is the proper name of God in Arabic. It is a unique term because it has no plural or feminine gender.

Continuity of MessageIslam is not a new religion. It is, in essence, the same message and guidance which Allah revealed to all Prophets:

"Say. we believe in Allah and that which has been revealed to us, and that which was revealed to Abraham and Ismael and Issac and Jacob and the tribes and that which was given to Moses and Jesus and to other Prophets, from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we submit". (Qura'n 3:83).

The message which was revealed to Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), the last Prophet in Islam in its comprehensive, complete and final form.

Five Pillars of Islam1. The declaration of faith : To bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His messenger to all human beings till the Day of Judgement. The Prophethood of Muhammad obliges the Muslims to follow his exemplary life as a model.

2. Prayers : Daily prayers are offered five times a day as a duty towards Allah. They strengthen and enliven the belief in Allah and inspire man to a higher morality. They purify the heart and prevent temptation towards wrong-doings and evils.

3. Fasting the month of Ramadhan : The Muslims during the month of Ramadhan not only abstain from food drink and sexual intercourse from dawn to sunset, but also from evil intentions and desires. It teaches love, sincerity and devotion. It develops a sound social conscience, patience, unselfishness and will-power.

4. Zakat: To pay annually 2.5% of one's net savings as a purifying sum to be spent on the poor and needy. Zakaat implies that everything man possesses belongs to God and therefore anyone in need has a share in it.

5. Pilgrimage to Makkah: It is to be performed once in a lifetime, if one can afford it financially and physically. Hajj implies Man's temporary suspension of all worldly activities and his realisation of himself as a naked soul in front of God alone.

Besides these pillars every action which is done with the awareness that it fulfills the will of Allah is also considered an act of worship. Islam enjoins faith in the Oneness and Sovereignty of Allah, which makes man aware of the meaningfulness of the Universe and of his place in it. This belief frees him from all fears and superstitions by making him conscious of the presence of the Almighty Allah and of man's obligations towards Him.

This faith must be expressed and tested in action. Faith alone is not enough. Belief in one God requires that we look upon all humanity as one family under the universal Omnipotence of God -the Creator. and Nourisher of all. Islam rejects the idea of a chosen people, making faith in God and good action the only way to heaven. Thus, a direct relationship is established with God, without any intercessor.

Man : The Free AgentMan is the highest creation of God. He is equipped with the highest of potentialities. He is left relatively free in his will, action and choice. God has shown him the right path, and the life of Prophet Muhammad provides a perfect example.

Man's success and salvation lies in following both. Islam teaches the sanctity of the human personality and confers equal rights upon all without any distinction of race, sex or colour.The law of God, enunciated in the Qura'n and exemplified in the life of the prophet, is supreme in all cases. It applies equally to the highest and the lowest, the prince and the peasant, the ruler and the ruled.

Life after DeathThe world according to Islam is a place of trial and man is being judged in it. Man is accountable to Allah for all that he does herein. Life on earth will, one day, come to an end; and after that a new world will be resurrected. It will be in this life after death that man will be rewarded or admonished for his deeds and misdeeds.

Qura’n and HadithThe Qura'n is the last revealed word of God and the basic source of Islamic teachings and laws. The Qura'n deals with the bases of creeds, morality, history of humanity, worship, knowledge, wisdom, God-man relationship, and human relationship in all aspects. Comprehensive teachings on which, can be built sound systems of social justice, economics, politics, legislation, jurisprudence, law and international relations, are important contents of the Holy Qura'n.

Muhammad (PBUH) himself was an unlettered man who could not read or write. Yet, the Holy Qura'n was committed to memory and writing by his followers, under his supervision, during his lifetime. The original and complete text of the Qura'n is available to everybody in Arabic, the language in which it was revealed. Translations of the meaning into many languages are widely used.

Hadith, the teachings, sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad, meticulously reported and collected by his devoted companions, explain and elaborate the Qura'nic verses.

Concept of Worship in Islam does not teach or accept mere ritualism. It emphasizes intention and action. To worship God is to know Him and love Him, to act upon His law in every aspect of life, to enjoin goodness and forbid wrong-doing and oppression, to practice charity and justice and to serve Him by serving mankind. The Qura'n presents this concept in the following sublime manner; "It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East or the West, but righteous is he who believes in God and the Last Day and the Angels and the Books and the Prophets; and gives his wealth for love of Him to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask; and to set slaves free; and observes proper worship and pays the Zakat. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress, such are those who are sincere. Such are the God fearing." (Qur'an 2: 177).

Islamic Way of LifeIslam provides specific guidelines for all people to follow in their daily lives. Its guidance is comprehensive and includes the social, economic, political, moral, and spiritual aspects of life. The Qur'an reminds man of the purpose of his life, of his duties and obligations toward himself, his family and relatives, his community, his fellow human beings, and his Creator. Man is given fundamental guidelines about a purposeful life and then confronted with the challenges of human existence so that he may put these high ideals into practice. In Islam, a person's life is regarded as a holistic and integrated unity and not a collection of fragmented and competitive parts. The "sacred" and "secular" are not separate parts of man; they are united in the nature of human being.

Islam Historical PerspectiveMuhammad (blessing and peace be upon him) was born in the year 570 A.C. in the city of Makkah in Arabia. He came of a noble family; he received the first revelation at the age of forty. As soon as he started preaching Islam, he and his followers were persecuted and had to face severe hardships. He was, therefore, commanded by God to migrate to Madina, another city in Arabia. During a short span of 23 years, he completed his mission of prophethood and died at the age of 63. He was put to rest in the city of Madina. He left no wealth or property. He led a perfect life and set an example for all human-beings. His biography illustrates in real life, the meaning and implications of the Qura'nic teachings.

Islam’s Rational AppealIslam in its clear and direct way of expressing truth has a tremendous amount of appeal for any seeker of knowledge. It is a solution for all the problems of life. It is a guide towards a better and complete life glorifying, in all its phases, God, the Almighty Creator and the Merciful Nourisher.

Muslim PapulationAbout 1 in 5 people in the world are Muslim, the majority of whom are not Arab.

Jihad in Islam:This seems to be one of the most misunderstood concepts in the media. To Muslims everything in their life can be seen as a Jihad. It essentially means struggle. The majority of the time this is essentially a personal struggle of oneself to the utmost in order to personally become a better person. It could be making the effort to stop smoking, swallowing you anger when provoked, giving time to your child after work though you are tired, to oraganise events for the betterment of society though you are shy.

The small part of this Jihad may also require the person to have the courage to physically defend the rights of others. A Muslim, therefore expends all the powers of body and soul, his wealth, possessions in the effort to improve oneself and remove oppression from the world and bring justice. The more widely known concept of Jihad is expressed in the Qur'an as, "What has happened to you? Why don't you fight in the way of Allah in support of men, women and children whom finding helpless, they have repressed; and who pray, 'O Allah! Liberate us from this habitation which is ruled by tyrants.'" (Holy Qur'an 4:75)

Islam – The Solution of Modern ProblemsThe Brotherhood of Man: A major problem which modern man faces is that of racism. The materially advanced nations can send man to the moon but they cannot stop man from hating and fighting his fellow man. Islam, over the last 1400 years, has shown in practice how racism can be ended. Every year, during Hajj, the Islamic miracle of real brotherhood of all races and nations can be seen in action.

The Family:The family which is the basic unit of civilization is disintegrating in all western countries. Islam's family system brings into a fine equilibrium the rights of man, wife, children and relatives. Islam nourishes human unselfishness, generosity and love in a well-organised family system.

Human beings live according to their view of life. The tragedy of secular societies is that they fail to connect the different aspects of life. The secular and the religious, the scientific and the spiritual seem to be in conflicts. Islam puts an end to this conflict and brings harmony to man's vision of life.

Conclusion:What is the state of the world today? Has man freed himself from all superstitions, imbecilities and absurd beliefs? Has he discovered the man from within himself? Has he liberated himself from the yoke of worldly tyrants indulging in the exploitation of man by man? If such a millennium has not been achieved despite all developments in science and technology, then Islam has still a great and glorious part to play.

1. Allah is God. The great majority of the non-Muslims I meet believe that Allah is a kind of personal name for some kind of small-"g" god, perhaps like Jupiter or Vulcan (gods of the Roman pantheon). I've even heard people refer contemptuously to the God of Islam as a "desert god," as if Judaism and Christianity originated in Yankee Stadium or something. The fact is that Allah is simply a compound word made from the Arabic words al (the) and lah, (god): the God. Monotheism -- the belief in a single, supreme, divine creator -- is the central and most important aspect of Islam. (And it's pronounced uh-LAH, not "Al, uh?") Even most English translations of the Qur'an I've seen do not translate the word. I believe it is really problematic and misleading not to translate such a key word for which there is an exact English equivalent.

Along these lines, I've taken several Muslims to task for using the Arabic term for God when they're speaking in English: all it does it serve to confuse those for whom it's never been made clear that Allah is the same God worshipped by Jews and Christians. Muslims may differ on various points with Jews and Christians, but this is not one of them. You'd never know, though, from the way these groups act with each other much of the time, that they each hold dear the same belief in the God of Abraham, Moses, and of Jesus (for Christians and Muslims) and, for Muslims, of Muhammad. (Muslims accept all the prophets prior to Muhammad, including Jesus. More on Jesus shortly.)

2. The biggest sin is Islam is shirk: "associating partners with God." Shirk may be generally defined as polytheism, but also includes such things as the Christian concept of a triune God, or the worshipping of anything other than God, whether it's a human being, any natural/human creation or phenomenon. This tends to create quite a theological abyss between Muslims and polytheists, but also with Christians and certain other religious groups.

You can imagine from this that expressions such as "Holy Mother of God!" give most observant Muslims the theological willies.

3. Muslims don't believe that Jesus was the son of God. As mentioned in 1, Muslims accept Jesus (in Arabic, "Isa") as a prophet, and an extremely important one at that. Following from 2, however, they do not accept the Christian belief that Jesus was the son of God (literally or ****phorically), although they do believe he is the son of Mary (in Arabic, "Maryam"). They further believe that at the time of the Crucifixion, another man was substituted for Jesus and made to look like him. Jesus was then raised up, "body and soul" by God into heaven.

This is probably the most significant point of difference between Christians and Muslims. Some Christian theologians and clergy believe that Christians err by placing too much emphasis on Jesus and elevating him to God's level, but that's an argument for another time and place.

4. Muslims don't worship the Prophet Muhammad. This naturally follows from 2, but, I suspect because of the extreme emphasis on Jesus in much of Christian practice, many assume that Islam parallels this with Muhammad and Muslims. While the Prophet is considered by Muslims to have been the human being with the best character, he is still regarded as a human being, albeit an exceptional one. And while he is regarded as the final prophet of God, he is not the only one. He does not have divine status, although Muslims hold him in the highest regard and are expected and encouraged to try to emulate his habits and characteristics, those being of the highest quality.

Muslims were for years incorrectly referred to as Mohammedans (spelled variously). This has generally become archaic, but you still see it now and then. It's actually profoundly offensive, since it implies shirk. (And while we're on it, it's Muslim, not Moslem, and Qur'an or Quran, not Koran.)

5. Translations of the Qur'an are not the Qur'an. It's well-known that something is always lost in translation. For those English speakers who don't ever expect to read the Bible in Hebrew, Aramaic, and whatever other languages in which its component texts originally appeared, it seems to be accepted that translations of the Bible are all more or less equally valid, although one may have a preferred translation. But only the Qur'an in its original Arabic is considered to be the Qur'an; translations are treated with great respect but are simply not equally valid. Muslims believe that the Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad (who was completely illiterate) by God through the angel Jibril (Gabriel). Muhammad memorized the passages as they were revealed and recited them and shared them with his family and followers. Pre-Islamic Arab culture was predominantly oral, and others ultimately learned and memorized the entire Qur'an; it was not completely written down until after the Prophet's death.

There have been many, many translations over the 1400-odd years since it was first written down; plenty of them are bad -- a few of them deliberately so in order to discredit Islam. Many poor translations offer little more than the bias and ignorance of the translator. But it's imperative to remember that any translation is at best an approximation, and it can be very dangerous to make sweeping judgments based on translated verses, especially in isolation.

6. Not all Muslims are Arabs; not all Arabs are Muslims. There seems to be widespread confusion about this. I suppose that, on some level, it's understandable: the Qur'an was revealed to an Arab speaker in Arabia, and two of Islam's holiest sites (the Holy Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah) are in what is now Saudi Arabia. But Arab people live in many countries, not just Saudi Arabia, and subscribe to many different religions, not just Islam: Christianity, Judaism, and Druze among them. The most populous Muslim country in the world is not even an Arab country: it's Indonesia. Only about twelve percent of the world's Muslims are Arabs. Muslims are nationals of many countries, from India to Sweden to Australia. Anyone who wants to can convert to Islam, and it's actually only a minority of Muslims who are also of Arab heritage. Also, not all Arab customs are Muslim. All Muslims do not speak Arabic, although prayers are to be said in Arabic, and Muslims are encouraged to learn to read Arabic so that they can understand the Qur'an. And while I would really, really like to believe this doesn't even need to be said, recent events have proved me wrong: not everyone with brown skin or wearing a turban is a Muslim or an Arab.

7. Culture is not religion. So much of the oppression and misogyny (female illiteracy, "honor" killing, female genital mutilation, forced marriages, physical abuse, etc.) we hear about in quasi- and pseudo-Islamic countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran stems from patriarchal cultural customs and baggage and not from Islam, although it's always "justified" sixty ways to Sunday with supposed religious dictates and self-serving interpretations of ******ure.

If any of these countries actually thoroughly implemented Islam as intended and honored the spirit as well as the letter of the "law," women, for example, would not only have far more rights and freedoms than they currently do in any of these countries, but the behavior of men and the actions of governments would have to change so radically that you would probably not recognize these countries at all. Islamic concepts and requirements are that different from how these countries currently operate.

8. Islam is not a monolith. It is a large, widespread, rich, and complex religion, with an extremely intricate and sometimes enigmatic ******ure, and an estimated 1.2 billion followers worldwide. There is overwhelming diversity within the Islamic world, beginning with the major Islamic subgroups: Sunni Muslims (accounting for around 85-90% of Muslims), Shi'ite Muslims, Sufis, Ismailis, and other small splinter groups. Within these groups there are schools of legal thought; there are four major ones within Sunni Islam alone. Muslims might be born into the religion or convert to it, and this contributes to the diversity within its adherents. It's absolutely essential not to see any one Muslim, genuine or otherwise, as representative of all Muslims.

The very diversity of Muslims worldwide is one reason the annual pilgrimage (hajj) to Makkah, the birthplace of Islam, is so compelling: every year for over fourteen hundred years, millions of Muslims have united for a few days, putting aside all differences of race, ethnic background, class, gender and language, to participate in a ritual established by the Prophet Muhammad.

9. Jihad does not mean "holy war." This has to be one of the most damaging, most persistent myths about Islam. The Western media have helped perpetuate this, but there are plenty of benighted Muslims who insist on misapprehending and incorrectly using this term. Jihad, (which comes from the Arabic root word jahada, meaning "to toil, to exert oneself, to strive for a better way of life") is correctly translated as "struggle" or "endeavour," and can easily apply to such things as a student working to earn a medical degree or a group of people raising money to build a mosque. It can apply to the struggle to control one's temper, or to learn to read and write. Part of my husband's jihad as a Muslim is the effort it takes for him to get up in time to offer the first prayers of the day, which occur before dawn. It encompasses the idea of struggling or fighting for good or against evil, but that does not necessarily mean with violence, and it certainly does not mean that any crackpot claiming to be Muslim and waving a Qur'an around can decide who is good and who is evil, and start killing people.

There are certain extreme circumstances under which the notion of jihad might encompass aggression or armed conflict, but these are only to be engaged in as a last resort, when all legal, political, economic, social, and diplomatic attempts to defend Muslims and their right to worship, or to combat other severe oppression (and not only against Muslims), have failed. Any kind of military action is, at best, a subset of the concept of jihad. In fact, there is a well-known Islamic saying indicating that any kind of military conflict is the "minor jihad"; the "major jihad" is the struggle to control and improve oneself. Some of the passages in the Qur'an describing battle and aggression (the passages militants often quote out of context to support their agendas) are narrating actual historical events, not advising them as a course of action or a religious duty. They are also offset by many other passages enjoining peace, mercy, goodness, tolerance, patience, forgiveness, compassion, restrictions in warfare, etc. It seems the bin Ladens and "Muslim" militants of the world just haven't gotten to those parts of the Qur'an yet.

10. Islam does not promote, sponsor, condone or encourage terrorism or murder. The smear campaign against Islam (during the twentieth century in particular) has been extremely thorough and successful

Islam has laid down some universal fundamental rights for humanity as a whole, which are to be observed and respected under all circumstances. To achieve these rights Islam provides not only legal safeguards but also a very effective moral system. Thus whatever leads to the welfare of the individual or the society is morally good in Islam and whatever is injurious is morally bad.

Islam attaches so much importance to the love of God and love of man that it discourages against excessive formalism. We read in the Quran:

"It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West; but it is righteousness to believe in God and the Last Day and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask; and for the ransom of slaves to be steadfast in prayers, and practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which you made: and to be firm and patient in pain (or suffering) and adversity and throughout all periods of panic.

Such are the people of truth, the God-fearing." (2:1 77)....We are given a beautiful description of the righteous and God-fearing man in these verses. He should obey salutary regulations, but he should fix his gaze on the love of God and the love of his fellow-men. We are given four heads:

a) Our faith should be true and sincere....b) We must be prepared to show it in deeds of charity to our fellow-men....c) We must be good citizens, supporting social organisations and....d) Our own individual soul must be firm and unshaken in all circumstances.....

This is the standard by which a particular mode of conduct is judged and classified as good or bad. This standard of judgment provides the nucleus around which the whole moral conduct should revolve. Before laying down any moral injunctions Islam seeks to firmly implant in man's heart the conviction that his dealings are with God who sees him at all times and in all places; that he may hide himself from the whole world but not from Him; that he may deceive everyone but cannot deceive God; that he can flee from the clutches of anyone else but not from God's.

Thus, by setting God's pleasure as the objective of man's life, Islam has furnished the highest possible standard of morality. This is bound to provide limitless avenues for the moral evolution of humanity. By making Divine revelations as the primary source of knowledge it gives permanence and stability to the moral standards which afford reasonable scope for genuine adjustments, adaptations and innovations though not for perversions, wild variation, atomistic relativism or moral fluidity. It provides a sanction to morality in the love and fear of God, which will impel man to obey the moral law even without any external pressure or supervision. Through belief in God and the Day of Judgement it furnishes a force which enables a person to adopt the moral conduct with earnestness and sincerity, with all the devotion of heart and soul. It does not, through a false sense of originality and innovation, provide any novel moral virtues nor does it seek to minimise the importance of the well known moral norms, nor does it give exaggerated importance to some and neglect others without cause. It takes up all the commonly known moral virtues and with a sense of balance and proportion it assigns a suitable place and function to each one of them in the total scheme of life. It widens the scope of man's individual and collective life -his domestic associations, his civic conduct, legal, educational, and social realms. It covers his life from home to society, from the dining table to the battlefield and peace conferences, literally from the cradle to the grave. In short, no sphere of life is exempt from the universal and comprehensive application of the moral principles of Islam. It makes morality reign supreme and ensures that the affairs of life, instead of dominated by selfish desires and petty interests, should be regulated by norms of morality.

It stipulates for man a system of life which is based on all good and is free from all evil. It invokes the people, not only to practise virtue, but also to establish virtue and eradicate vice, to bid good and to forbid wrong. It wants that the verdict of conscience should prevail and virtue must not be subdued to play second fiddle to evil. Those who respond to this call are gathered together into a community and given the name Muslim. And the singular object underlying the formation of this community (Ummah) is that it should make an organised effort to establish and enforce goodness and suppress and eradicate evil.

Here we furnish some basic moral teachings of Islam for various aspects of a Muslim's life. They cover the broad spectrum of personal moral conduct of a Muslim as well as his social responsibilities.

God-Consciousness The Quran mentions it as the highest quality of a Muslim:...." The most honourable among you in the sight of God is the one who is most God-conscious." (49:13)....

Humility, modesty, control of passions and desires, truthfulness, integrity, patience, steadfastness, and fulfilling one's promises are moral values which are emphasised again and again in the Quran. We read in the Quran:...."And God loves those who are firm and steadfast." (3:146)"....

"And vie with one another to attain to your Sustainer's forgiveness and to a ..Paradise.. as vast as the heavens and the earth, which awaits the God-conscious, who spend for charity in time of plenty and in time of hardship, and restrain their anger, and pardon their fellow men, for God loves those who do good." (3:133- 134)....

"Establish regular prayer, enjoin what is just, and forbid what is wrong; and bear patiently whatever may befall you; for this is true constancy. And do not swell your cheek (with pride) at men. nor walk in insolence on the earth, for God does not love any man proud and boastful. And be moderate in your pace and lower your voice; for the harshest of sounds, indeed, is the braying of the ass." (31:18-19)....

In a way which summarises the moral behaviour of a Muslim, the prophet (PBUH) said:...." My Sustainer has given me nine commands: to remain conscious of God, whether in private or in public; to speak justly, whether angry or pleased; to show moderation both when poor and when rich; to reunite friendship with those who have broken it off with me; to give to him who refuses me; that my silence should be an admonition; and that I should command what is right."

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES The teachings of Islam concerning social responsibilities are based on kindness and consideration of others. Since a broad injunction to be kind is likely to be ignored in specific situations. Islam lays emphasis on specific acts of kindness and defines the responsibilities and rights of various relationships. In a widening circle of relationship, then our first obligation is to our immediate family - parents, husband or wife and children, then to other relatives, neighbours, friends and acquaintances, orphans and widows, the needy of the community, our fellow Muslims, all our fellow human beings and animals.

Parents Respect and care for parents is very much stressed in the Islamic teaching and is a very important part of a Muslim's expression of faith.

"Your Sustainer has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life-time, do not say to them a word of contempt nor repel them, but address them in terms of honour. And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility and say: My Sustainer! Bestow on them Your mercy, even as they cherished me in childhood." (..17:23..-24) Other Relatives u And render to the relatives their due rights, as (also) to those in need, and to the traveller; and do not squander your wealth in the manner of a spendthrift." (..17:26..)....

Neighbours The Prophet (PBUH) has said: "....He is not a believer who eats his fill when his neighbour beside him is hungry; and He does not believe whose neighbours are not safe from his injurious conduct."

Actually, according to the Quran and Sunnah a Muslim has to discharge his moral responsibility not only to his parents, relatives and neighbours but to the entire mankind, animals and useful trees and plants. For example, hunting of birds and animals for the sake of game is not permitted. Similarly cutting trees and plants which yield fruit is forbidden unless there is a very pressing need for it.....

Thus, on the basic moral characteristics, Islam builds a higher system of morality by virtue of which mankind can realise its greatest potential. Islam purifies the soul from self-seeking egotism, tyranny, wantonness and indiscipline. It creates God-fearing men, devoted to their ideals, possessed of piety, abstinence and uncompromising with falsehood. It induces feelings of moral responsibility and fosters the capacity for self-control. Islam generates kindness, generosity, mercy, sympathy, peace, disinterested goodwill, scrupulous fairness and truthfulness towards all creation in all situations. It nourishes noble qualities from which only good may be expected.....

The Rightly guided CaliphsUpon the death of the Prophet, Abu Bakr, the friend of the Prophet and the first adult male to embrace Islam, became caliph. Abu Bakr ruled for two years to be succeeded by 'Umar who was caliph for a decade and during whose rule Islam spread extensively east and west conquering the Persian empire, Syria and Egypt. It was 'Umar who marched on foot at the end of the Muslim army into Jerusalem and ordered the protection of Christian sites. 'Umar also established the first public treasury and a sophisticated financial administration. He established many of the basic practices of Islamic government. 'Umar was succeeded by 'Uthman who ruled for some twelve years during which time the Islamic expansion continued. He is also known as the caliph who had the definitive text of the Noble Quran copied and sent to the four corners of the Islamic world. He was in turn succeeded by 'Ali who is known to this day for his eloquent sermons and letters, and also for his bravery. With his death the rule of the "rightly guided" caliphs, who hold a special place of respect in the hearts of Muslims, came to an end.

The CaliphateUmayyadThe Umayyad caliphate established in 661 was to last for about a century. During this time Damascus became the capital of an Islamic world which stretched from the western borders of China to southern France. Not only did the Islamic conquests continue during this period through North Africa to Spain and France in the West and to Sind, Central Asia and Transoxiana in the East, but the basic social and legal institutions of the newly founded Islamic world were established. AbbasidsThe Abbasids, who succeeded the Umayyads, shifted the capital to Baghdad which soon developed into an incomparable center of learning and culture as well as the administrative and political heart of a vast world. They ruled for over 500 years but gradually their power waned and they remained only symbolic rulers bestowing legitimacy upon various sultans and princes who wielded actual military power. The Abbasid caliphate was finally abolished when Hulagu, the Mongol ruler, captured Baghdad in 1258, destroying much of the city including its incomparable libraries.

While the Abbasids ruled in Baghdad, a number of powerful dynasties such as the Fatimids, Ayyubids and Mamluks held power in Egypt, Syria and Palestine. The most important event in this area as far as the relation between Islam and the Western world was concerned was the series of Crusades declared by the Pope and espoused by various European kings. The purpose, although political, was outwardly to recapture the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem for Christianity. Although there was at the beginning some success and local European rule was set up in parts of Syria and Palestine, Muslims finally prevailed and in 1187 Saladin, the great Muslim leader, recaptured Jerusalem and defeated the Crusaders.

When the Abbasids captured Damascus, one of the Umayyad princes escaped and made the long journey from there to Spain to found Umayyad rule there, thus beginning the golden age of Islam in Spain. Cordoba was established as the capital and soon became Europe's greatest city not only in population but from the point of view of its cultural and intellectual life. The Umayyads ruled over two centuries until they weakened and were replaced by local rulers. Meanwhile in North Africa, various local dynasties held sway until two powerful Berber dynasties succeeded in uniting much of North Africa and also Spain in the 12th and 13th centuries. After them this area was ruled once again by local dynasties such as the Sharifids of Morocco who still rule in that country. As for Spain itself, Muslim power continued to wane until the last Muslim dynasty was defeated in Granada in 1492 thus bringing nearly eight hundred years of Muslim rule in Spain to an end.

The Mongols devastated the eastern lands of Islam and ruled from the Sinai Desert to India for a century. But they soon converted to Islam and became known as the Il-Khanids. They were in turn succeeded by Timur and his descendents who made Samarqand their capital and ruled from 1369 to 1500. The sudden rise of Timur delayed the formation and expansion of the Ottoman empire but soon the Ottomans became the dominant power in the Islamic world. Ottoman EmpireFrom humble origins the Turks rose to dominate over the whole of Anatolia and even parts of Europe. In 1453 Mehmet the Conqueror captured Constantinople and put an end to the Byzantine empire. The Ottomans conquered much of eastem Europe and nearly the whole of the Arab world, only Morocco and Mauritania in the West and Yemen, Hadramaut and parts of the Arabian peninsula remaining beyond their control. They reached their zenith of power with Suleyman the Magnificent whose armies reached Hungary and Austria. From the 17th century onward with the rise of Westem European powers and later Russia, the power of the Ottomans began to wane. But they nevertheless remained a force to be reckoned with until the First World War when they were defeated by the Westem nations. Soon thereafter Kamal Ataturk gained power in Turkey and abolished the six centuries of rule of the Ottomans in 1924. PersiaWhile the Ottomans were concerned mostly with the westem front of their empire, to the east in Persia a new dynasty called the Safavids came to power in 1502. The Safavids established a powerful state of their own which flourished for over two centuries and became known for the flowering of the arts. Their capital, Isfahan, became one of the most beautiful cities with its blue tiled mosques and exquisite houses. The Afghan invasion of 1736 put an end to Safavid rule and prepared the independence of Afghanistan which occured fommally in the 19th century. Persia itself fell into tummoil until Nader Shah, the last Oriental conqueror, reunited the country and even conquered India. But the rule of the dynasty established by him was short-lived. The Zand dynasty soon took over to be overthrown by the Qajars in 1779 who made Tehran their capital and ruled until 1921 when they were in turn replaced by the Pahlavis. IndiaAs for India, Islam entered into the land east of the Indus River peacefully. Gradually Muslims gained political power beginning in the early 13th century. But this period which marked the expansion of both Islam and Islamic culture came to an end with the conquest of much of India in 1526 by Babur, one of the Timurid princes. He established the powerful Mogul empire which produced such famous rulers as Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan and which lasted, despite the gradual rise of British power in India, until 1857 when it was officially abolished.

Farther east in the Malay world, Islam began to spread in the 12th century in northem Sumatra and soon Muslim kingdoms were establishd in Java, Sumatra and mainland Malaysia. Despite the colonization of the Malay world, Islam spread in that area covering present day Indonesia, Malaysia, the southern Phililppines and southern Thailand, and is still continuing in islands farther east. AfricaAs far as Africa is concemed, Islam entered into East Africa at the very beginning of the Islamic period but remained confined to the coast for some time, only the Sudan and Somaliland becoming gradually both Arabized and Islamized. West Africa felt the presence of Islam through North African traders who travelled with their camel caravans south of the Sahara. By the 14th century there were already Muslim sultanates in such areas as Mali, and Timbuctu in West Africa and Harar in East Africa had become seats of Islamic leaming. Gradually Islam penetrated both inland and southward. There also appeared major charismatic figures who inspired intense resistance against European domination. The process of the Islamization of Africa did not cease during the colonial period and continues even today with the result that most Africans are now Muslims carrying on a tradition which has had practically as long a history in certain areas of sub-Saharan Africa as Islam itself.

It is almost impossible to generalize about American Muslims: converts, immigrants, factory workers, doctors; all are making their own contribution to America's future. This complex community is unified by a common faith, underpinned by a countrywide network of a thousand mosques. Muslims were early arrivals in North America. By the eighteenth century there were many thousands of them, working as slaves on plantations. These early communities, cut off from their heritage and families, inevitably lost their Islamic identity as time went by. Today many Afro-American Muslims play an important role in the Islamic community.

The nineteenth century, however, saw the beginnings of an influx of Arab Muslims, most of whom settled in the major industrial centers where they worshipped in hired rooms. The early twentieth century witnessed the arrival of several hundred thousand Muslims from Eastem Europe: the first Albanian mosque was opened in Maine in 1915; others soon followed, and a group of Polish Muslims opened a mosque in Brooklyn in 1928.

In 1947 the Washington Islamic Center was founded during the term of President Truman, and several nationwide organizations were set up in the fifties. The same period saw the establishment of other communities whose lives were in many ways modelled after Islam. More recently, numerous members of these groups have entered the fold of Muslim orthodoxy. Today there are about five million Muslims in America.

It was only after the Second World War and the dismemberment of the British, French, Dutch and Spanish empires that the rest of the Islamic world gained its independence. In the Arab world, Syria and Lebanon became independent at the end of the war as did Libya and the shaykdoms around the Gulf and the Arabian Sea by the 1960's. The North African countries of Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria had to fight a difficult and, in the case of Algeria, long and protracted war to gain their freedom which did not come until a decade later for Tunisia and Morocco and two decades later for Algeria. Only Palestine did not become independent but was partitioned in 1948 with the establishment of the state of Israel.

In India Muslims participated in the freedom movement against British rule along with Hindus and when independence finally came in 1947, they were able to create their own homeland, Pakistan, which came into being for the sake of Islam and became the most populated Muslim state although many Muslims remained in India. In 1971, however, the two parts of the state broke up, East Pakistan becoming Bengladesh. Far EastFarther east still, the Indonesians finally gained their independence from the Dutch and the Malays theirs from Britain. At first Singapore was part of Malaysia but it separated in 1963 to become an independent state. Small colonies still persisted in the area and continued to seek their independence, the kingdom of Brunei becoming independent as recently as 1984.

In Africa also major countries with large or majority Muslim populations such as Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania began to gain their independence in the 1950's and 1960's with the result that by the end of the decade of the 60's most parts of the Islamic world were formed into independent national states. There were, however, exceptions. The Muslim states in the Soviet Union failed to gain their autonomy or independence. The same holds true for Sinkiang (called Eastem Turkestan by Muslim geographers) while in Eritrea and the southern Philippines Muslim independence movements still continue.

While the world of Islam has entered into the modern world in the form of national states, continuous attempts are made to create closer cooperation within the Islamic world as a whole and to bring about greater unity. This is seen not only in the meetings of the Muslim heads of state and the establishment of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries) with its own secretariat, but also in the creation of institutions dealing with the whole of the Islamic world. Among the most important of these is the Muslim World League (Rabitat al-alam al-Islami ) with its headquarters in Makkah. Saudi Arabia has in fact played a pivotal role in the creation and maintenance of such organizations.

Muslims did not wish to gain only their political independence. They also wished to assert their own religious and cultural identity. From the 18th century onward Muslim reformers appeared upon the scene who sought to reassert the teachings of Islam and to reform society on the basis of Islamic teachings. One of the first among this group was Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, who hailed from the Arabian peninsula and died there in 1792. This reformer was supported by Muhammad ibn al-Sa'ud, the founder of the first Saudi state. With this support Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab was able to spread his teachings not only in Arabia but even beyond its borders to other Islamic lands where his reforms continue to wield influence to this day. In the 19th century lslamic assertion took several different forms ranging from the Mahdi movement of the Sudan and the Sanusiyyah in North Africa which fought wars against European colonizers, to educational movements such as that of Aligarh in India aiming to reeducate Muslims. In Egypt which, because of al-Azhar University, remains to this day central to Islamic learning, a number of reformers appear, each addressing some aspect of Islamic thought. Some were concerned more with law, others economics, and yet others the challenges posed by Western civilization with its powerful science and technology. These included Jamal al-Din al-Afghani who hailed originally from Persia but settled in Cairo and who was the great champion of Pan-Islamism, that is the movement to unite the Islamic world politically as well as religiously. His student, Muhammad 'Abduh, who became the rector of al-Azhar. was also very influential in Islamic theology and thought. Also of considerable influence was his Syrian student, Rashid Rida, who held a position closer to that of 'Abd al-Wahhab and stood for the strict application of the Shari'ah. Among the most famous of these thinkers is Muhammad Iqbal, the outstanding poet and philosopher who is considered as the father of Pakistan.

We Muslims believe that the best of all human beings — Muhammad, may Allah´s peace and blessings be upon him — was much more than just one of the many prophets, as he was Khatam al-nabiyyeen (seal of the prophets); simultaneously, we also believe that he was much more than just one of the numerous messengers of Allah, as he was Aakhir al-rusul (the final Messenger). Prophecy or Prophethood not only ends and comes to a close with the advent of Muhammad (SAW), but it also achieves its final plenitude, consummation and culmination in him. This means that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) represents the completion and climax of all earlier prophetic missions, as well as the fulfillment and full blossoming of all antecedent Divine revelations. Seen in this perspective, it becomes absolutely certain that whereas the objective and aim of Muhammad´s prophethood cannot be fundamentally different from those of all other prophets, at the same time it must also reflect the characteristic of completion and full realization. And this by itself confers on him a distinct and special place in the galaxy of noble prophets.

It is, therefore, clear that in order to fully comprehend and appreciate the objective of Muhammad´s advent as the final prophet we must first understand, as enunciated by the Holy Qur´an, the general objective of the institution of Prophethood itself. Only then can we attempt to grasp the distinctive and unique nature of the goal of Muhammad´s Prophethood, as well as its significance. May Allah´s peace and blessings be upon him.

THE AXIAL PURPOSE OF PROPHETSThree Doctrinal BeliefsIt is common knowledge that Islam is based upon three metaphysical beliefs, viz., the faith in Allah as the one Supreme Creator and Sovereign (Tawheed), the belief in the accountability in the life-after-death (Ma´ad), and the faith in the institutions of Prophethood and Revelation (Risalah). However, what is generally not realized is the fact that these three doctrinal beliefs are very deeply connected and logically related, and, taken together, constitute an indivisible organic unity. Let us try to examine very briefly and schematically the real import of these beliefs and the nature of their mutual relationship.

Belief in Allah

Keeping aside philosophical controversies and theological intricacies, the quintessential claim of belief in Allah is as follows. The entire realm of being and the whole cosmic complex is neither eternal nor ever-lasting; rather, it is both contingent and perishable. In itself, it has no warrant for its own existence and it cannot explain itself. However, there is one such Being as has neither beginning in time nor an end — Allah, the proper name for God. It makes no difference whether one calls Him Allah or Al-Rahman (The Most Beneficent). He is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe and of man, and, particularly, the giver of guidance for man and the Supreme Judge of his conduct. God´s existence can be brought home to those who care to reflect, so that it not only ceases to be an ´irrational´ or ´unreasonable´ belief but also becomes for them the Master-Truth. He is all-enveloping, literally boundless, and He alone is absolute, eternal, and infinite. Everything else carries in the very texture of its being the hallmark of its finitude and creatureliness. He is the personification of all good attributes, like Power, Majesty, Mercy, Munificence, Knowledge, etc., in the utmost degree. In the very nature of the case, there can be only one God, for whenever one tries to conceive of more than one, only one will be found to emerge as the First. The Holy Qur´an declares:

Do not take two gods (for) He is only One. (Al-Nahl 16:51)

God bears witness that there is no god but He. (Aal-i-Imran 3:18)

Say (O Muhammad) if there were other gods beside Him, as these people assert, they would all (necessarily) seek their way to the (one) Lord of the Throne. (Al-Isra 17:42)

Nobody from amongst the creatures shares His substantial essence, attributes, rights, authority and privileges. God cannot be regarded as an existent among other existents. In the metaphysical realm, there can be no democratic and equal sharing of being between the Original, the Creator, the Self-Necessary on the one hand and the borrowed, the created, the contingent on the other. The Qur´anic condemnation of Shirk (assigning partners to God) has its roots firmly in the metaphysical realm and then issues forth its corollaries in the political and moral fields.

The whole Sura al-Ikhlas, like many other verses of the Holy Qur´an, most categorically emphasizes the oneness and absoluteness of God Almighty:

Say: He is one God: God the eternal, the Uncaused (Absolute) Cause of all being. He begets not, and neither is He begotten; and there is nothing that could be compared with Him. (Al-Ikhlas 112:1-4)

And say: All praise is to God, who begets no offspring, and has no partner in his dominion, and has no weakness, and therefore no need of any aid, and (thus) extol His limitless greatness. (Al-Isra 17:111)

He allots to no one a share in His dominion and rule. (Al-Kahf 18:26)

Almighty Allah (SWT) has created the universe with a purpose and for a definite period of time. The creation of the universe is a serious affair, not a sport or triviality:

And We have not created the heavens and the earth and what is therein purposelessly — that is the opinion of those who reject (God) or are ungrateful. (Al-Saad 38:27)

The non-ultimacy of nature itself proves its destructibility and the Qur´an tells us that God in His wisdom has created the myriad forms of existence for a finite duration of time, known only to Him. At the pinnacle of God´s multi-layered creations appears man whom He endowed with a dual nature: Allah (SWT) created his animal form and then breathed into him out of His own Spirit, and made him His vicegerent on earth. In other words, the Holy Qur´an presents a theomorphic conception of man: he is homo cum Deo. The creation of man represents the acme of Divine creative process, as, according to an authentic tradition of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), God has created man in His own image. The following verses of the Holy Qur´an refers to both aspects of the creation of man:

We have indeed created man in the finest of moulds, then We reversed him to the lowest of the low. (Al-Teen 95: 4,5)

Belief in the Life HereafterThe core of this Islamic belief lies in the assertion that the present terrestrial existence of man does not constitute his total life; rather, it is a short preamble of the everlasting life in the Hereafter, a very brief preface of the long life-book. Life in this world is merely a trial or examination period, the rewards or punishments of which will be enjoyed or suffered in the Hereafter (Al-Aakhira). Physical death experienced by man in this world does not represent the annihilation of the individual person; rather it is only his transportation from this world to the eternal life in the next world. Immediately after death is the Barzakh, a brief halting station on the way to the Hereafter, and the ever-lasting life will begin after the Day of Judgement (the final accounting of deeds). Resurrection of the dead, final reckoning, weighing of deed-records, torments of the hell-fire and joys of the Paradise — all are essential parts of the Qur´anic eschatology which fully elaborate the Islamic belief in the Hereafter. Al-Aakhira or the ´end´ is the moment of truth. Thus "that day man will recall what he had been striving for" (Al-Naaziat 79:35) is a typical statement of this phenomenon. It is an Hour when all veils between the subjective perceptions of man and the objective moral reality will be rent:

You were in deep heedlessness about this (Hour of self-awareness), but now We have rent your veil, so your sight today is keen. (Qaaf 50:22)

Indeed, the essence of the Hereafter (Al-Aakhira) consists in the long-range results or consequences of man´s endeavours during his earthly life. Ad-Dunya, or the immediate objectives and the here-and-now of life, on the contrary, represents the lower values, the baser pursuits which appear so tempting that most men run after them most of the time, at the expense of the higher and long-range ends. The Holy Prophet (SAW) has elaborated this in one of his moving sermons thus:

I swear by Allah that all of you will certainly die, just as you go to sleep at night. Then surely you will all be raised again as you wake up in the morning. Then you will definitely be judged for the deeds you had been doing. You will get rewards for good deeds and punishment for the evil ones; it will either be the everlasting life of Paradise or the endless torment of Hell-fire. (Cf. Sermons of the Holy Prophet, reproduced in Nahjul Balagha)

The Relationship between the Belief in Allah and the Belief in the Hereafter

With a little thoughtful reflection one can realize that the Islamic metaphysical belief in the Divine Creator and the eschatological belief in the Hereafter together constitute the total sapiential knowledge of the whence (mabda) and whither (ma´ad) of man. That is to say, one who upholds these beliefs reflectively and with full consciousness, ipso facto, possesses authentic knowledge both about his source or origin and his ultimate destiny or destination. The Holy Qur´an summarizes this in the following words:

Verily, we are from Allah and unto Him we shall return. (Al-Baqara 2:156)

As a matter of truth, a man without this absolutely essential knowledge of the whence and whither of humanity is like a wayfarer who, due to a mishap during the course of his journey, neither remembers as to wherefrom he started his excursion nor recalls the destination to which he was traveling. One can well imagine the miserable plight and mental anguish of that traveler. This is exactly the situation of a man who, not knowing his ultimate destination or the purpose of his existence, spends his entire life in pursuing this-worldly goals, in accumulating the means of material sustenance and luxuries, and in seeking carnal gratifications. Such a man is so absorbed in his immediate physical concerns and his narrow material gains that he does not heed the higher ideals and values of life. The Holy Qur´an allegorically speaks of this man thus:

But then, is he who goes along prone on his face better guided than he who walks upright on a straight path? (Al-Mulk 67:22)

That is to say, the man who is ignorant of Divine guidance is confined in a narrow single dimension. He therefore sees only what is immediately beneath his feet, and is utterly unaware of the direction his path is taking him to. This is a metaphor of the spiritual obtuseness which prevents a person from caring for anything beyond his proximate worldly concerns.Or else, this man is like a kite which, its thin cord having been cut, is entirely at the mercy of the ever-changing winds. The winds may carry it wherever they like. The Holy Qur´an expresses this very graphically in these words:

For he who ascribes divine qualities to anything beside God is like one who is hurtling down from the sky, whereupon either the birds snatch him off, or the winds blow him away to a far off place (Al-Hajj 22:31)

The net result of this rejection or ignorance of the Divine guidance in respect of the whence and whither of man is that he becomes enmeshed in metaphysical doubts and uncertainties, ending up with wholesale agnosticism or skepticism. The logical end-point of this epistemological confusion is that some thinkers are led even to the extent of casting doubts on their own objective existence and into total ethical nihilism.

An Important Question

At this juncture a very crucial question arises, the right answer to which can explain the logical relation between the Islamic metaphysical beliefs discussed above — that is, belief in Allah and in the Hereafter — and the doctrine of Prophethood. The question is: on what basis is man to be judged in the Hereafter? Or, in other words, on what grounds is man accountable for his deeds on the Day of Judgement?

The most authentic explanation of this issue, in the light of the Holy Qur´an, can be very succinctly expressed thus:

Primarily (and essentially), a man is accountable for his deeds on the grounds of natural capacities and higher faculties which are bestowed on him by Allah (SWT), viz., the abilities of sight and hearing and reasoning, the faculties of perception and intuition and insight, and a powerful penchant and love for the Creator — that is to say, the three faculties of nafs (self), qalb (heart), and ruh (spirit or soul).

Secondarily, Almighty Allah (SWT) has, in His infinite Mercy, supplemented the above mentioned inherent potentialities of man with heavenly guidance through revelation of Books and sending of His Prophets and Messengers, so that men might have no excuse before God on the Day of Judgement, so that they may not be in a position to plead ignorance. Revelation and Prophethood is thus an additional (and external, so to say) factor that makes man fully answerable to God for his deeds in the Hereafter. This point, however, calls for a little clarification:

Latifa-e-NafsSelf or ego is the lowest of all the faculties possessed by man. Considered from this standpoint, man no doubt is only a highly evolved animal and belongs to the realm of Creation (Aalam-e-Khalq). A major part of this self is carnal, and its dominant inclination is towards inferior and baser pursuits. The Holy Qur´an calls this self nafs-e-ammarah, i.e., the self which prompts man to worldly and immoral aims. This is an expression for the lowest stage in the spiritual growth of man, the stage where low desires and animal passions rule his personality and he succumbs to them like any other brute. Different aspects of this self were studied and pointed out by Marx, Freud, and Adler. Each of them focused his attention exclusively on one of the urges and desires belonging to the lower human self. Darwin, too, was not entirely wrong in asserting the human biological evolution which is a fact in respect of the natural development of the earthly or animal part of man.

Latifa-e-Ruh

Diametrically opposed to the above mentioned animal self is that component of man which is his soul or spirit. It is a Divine element in man, as Almighty Allah (SWT) has associated it with Himself: "and breathed into him of My Spirit" (Al-Hijr 15:29 & Al-Saad 38:72). This spiritual element of man totally belongs to Aalam-e-Amr, or the realm of Divine directive force: "Say, the spirit is from God´s direction" (Al-Asra 17:85). Being strictly of Divine origin, it has an inherent love for, and attraction towards, Almighty Allah (SWT), and, consequently, aspires for a communion with Him. In spiritually mature personalities, however, this dormant tendency becomes very acute and lights up in the form of what is described as a Divine spark.

The Internal Strife of Good and Evil

Being a composite of baser animal ego (nafs) and the Divine spiritual soul (ruh), man can rightly be characterized as a "microcosm" of the whole being — possessing in, and reflecting from, the innermost recesses of his selfhood both evil tendencies and higher spiritual aspirations. He experiences within himself the lowest drives of evil and vice, as well as the noblest urgings for moral righteousness and spiritual excellence. Man´s inner personality thus is an arena of a long and perpetual pitched battle between the forces of evil and goodness.

The Basic Grounds for Accountability

Almighty Allah (SWT) has not sent man in this world without giving him any capacity and potential to cope with the inner strife of good and evil. On the contrary, man has been endowed with numerous faculties that help him in fighting out the blind and irrational promptings of evil. Even the lowest element of his personality — the animal self or Latifa-e-Nafs — is equipped not only with the capacities of sight, hearing, and reasoning, but also with an acute moral sense. There is a world of qualitative difference between the sensory and mental operations of human beings and brute animals. Logical reasoning through induction and deduction, abstractions and thoughtful reflections, as well as metaphysical speculations are only the prerogatives of human beings. Moreover, the human self has been equipped by Allah (SWT) with a moral sense that discriminates between virtue and vice, between moral rectitude and immorality. That is why man´s own inner moral self, or nafs-i-lawwamah in Qur´anic terminology, is the most authentic judge within. Slightest departure from the path of moral rectitude activates this "self-accusing soul" and the pricks of conscience are immediately experienced by the evil-doer. The following verses of the Holy Qur´an categorically state these truths:

Indeed, We created man from a mixed sperm-drop in order to try him, and therefore We made him capable of hearing and seeing. (Al-Dahr 76:2)

Nay, I call to witness the Day of Resurrection! But nay, I call to witness the accusing voice of man´s own conscience (Al-Qiyamah 75:1,2)

And (by the) human self, and how it is formed in accordance with what it is meant to be; then inspired it with its moral failings as well as with its God-consciousness. (Al-Shams 91:7,8)

The connotation of the verb sawwa, used in the Arabic text of the last quotation above, is that Almighty Allah (SWT) has endowed the human self with an inner coherence and with qualities consistent with the functions which it is meant to perform, and thus has adapted it a priori to the exigencies of its terrestrial existence. Moreover, Allah (SWT) has implanted a keen moral sense in him; thus, the fact that man is equally liable to rise to great spiritual heights as well as to fall into utter immorality is an essential and primordial characteristic of human nature as such. In other words, it is this inherent dichotomy of tendencies which gives to every right choice a value, and, thus, endows man with moral free-will.

The Holy Qur´an speaks of three types of human self, or three stages or states of the spiritual development: Nafs-e-ammara (Yousuf 12:53) is prone to evil, and, if unchecked and uncontrolled, leads to perdition and eternal damnation; nafs-e-lawwama (Al-Qiyamah 75:2) which feels conscious of the evil and resists, asks for God´s grace and pardon after repentance and tries to amend; nafs-e-mutma´inna (Al-Fajr 89:27), the highest stage of all, when it achieves full peace and satisfaction in obeying Divine commands. According to the Qur´an, a man is always cognizant, because of his inborn moral sense, of the morality or immorality of his actions, irrespective of the rationalizations or excuses that he may offer. Thus, the Qur´an says:

Nay, but man is a witness against himself, even though he may veil himself in excuses. (Al-Qiyamah 75:14,15)

On the Day of Judgement, one´s tongue, hands, feet, and skin will bear witness against him as to his actions. It is not what a man will say about himself, or what others say of him, that determines the judgement upon him. It is what he is in himself. His own inner personality will betray him and condemn him.

The above cited Qur´anic verses and the brief explanatory notes make the truth crystal clear that man is not, like animals, merely a sentient or instinctive being; rather, he has been made by the Creator into a full-fledged human person — a human being capable of discerning between right and wrong and thus of choosing his way of life. On the basis of this ingrained moral sense, every human being as such is answerable on the Day of Final Reckoning, and is fully liable to punishment or reward. Every individual will have to account for his own deeds personally, and face the trial and the judgement himself. The Holy Qur´an make clear this point thus:

(Be conscious, then, of) the Day every human being shall come to plead for himself (alone), and every human being shall be repaid in full for whatever he has done, and none shall be wronged. (Al-Nahl 16:111)

The Holy Qur´an categorically refutes the Christian doctrine of vicarious redemption as well as the Jewish idea that "the chosen people" — as the Jews consider themselves — would be exempt from punishment on the Day of Judgement. On that day, nobody would be able to help another, nor will there be any possibility of ransom or intercession, as the Qur´an says:

And remain conscious of (the coming of) a Day when no human being shall in the least avail another, nor shall intercession be accepted from any of them, nor ransom taken from them, and none shall be succoured (Al-Baqara 2:48)

Latifa-e-Qalb

In addition to the above mentioned faculties of sight, hearing, reasoning, and moral acumen, Almighty Allah (SWT) has also endowed man with the heart (qalb), i.e., the faculty of contemplative intuition and the seat or organ of numinous apprehension. The heart is indeed ablaze with the light of love and gnosis of Almighty Allah (SWT). It reflects within itself all the transcendental truths and the reality of all true existence.

The heart is, so to say, a microcosmic reality which contains within itself the reflection of the entire supersensible Macrocosm. Whereas latifa-e-nafs has been bestowed with the faculties of receiving and interpreting sense data — which is the foundation of all physical and theoretical sciences — latifa-e-qalb has been given the power of direct perception of spiritual verities. Heart, in Qur´anic epistemology, is the seat of the true self or the repository of soul, of which we may be conscious or ignorant, but which is our true existential and intellectual — and therefore universal — center. Knowledge afforded by the heart is qualitatively different from that which is acquired at the level of latifa-i-nafs through external senses and ordinary channels of ratiocination. The heart is, as it were, immersed in the immutability of Being and is, thus, an organ of ilm-i-ladunni, which is knowledge imparted directly by God through intuition and inner perception. It is a supersensory organ of cognition in which the knowledge of esoteric truths transpires through tafaqquh, i.e., meditative reflection, where contemplativity is stressed more than the sharpness of intelligence. By bestowing upon man the subtle and luminous cognitive faculty of heart, Almighty Allah (SWT) has conclusively rendered him responsible and accountable for his deeds in the Life-after-death.

Muslim poets in general and the mystic poets of the Indo-Persia in particular have, in their lyrical compositions, lauded the role of the heart in attaining veridical knowledge. They have done so quite rightly, and with hardly any fanciful exaggeration, since the paramount importance of the heart was emphatically pointed out by the Holy Prophet himself (SAW). For instance, according to one of his oft-quoted sayings, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, "Verily, just like pieces of iron which get rusty if water touches them, hearts also become rusty." Thereupon his Companions asked, "We do polish rusty objects, but how can we polish rusty hearts?" He answered that hearts are polished "through frequent remembering of death and reading of the Holy Qur´an."

Men who do not use their God-given cognitive faculties can only be called worse than cattle, inasmuch as animals follow only their instincts and natural urges and are not conscious of either the possibility or the necessity of higher knowledge or moral choice. Animals do see physical objects, but they lack the capacity to perceive them meaningfully as items of articulated and theory-loaded knowledge. If a human being similarly fails to attain the metaphysical knowledge of the Really Real — despite possessing all the faculties to do so — then he is not just like animals, he is worse than them.

... they have hearts with which they fail to grasp the truth, and eyes with which they fail to see, and ears with which they fail to hear. They are like cattle; nay, they are farther astray. (Al-Aa´raf 7:179)

Though these people apparently have all the faculties of reason and perception, yet they have so deadened them that those faculties do not work in the real sense; as a result they remain misguided throughout their lives and go headlong into Hell.

The External Prompter of Good and Evil

As explained above from the Qur´anic point of view, the inner denizen of man´s self is an arena of ceaseless struggle between good and evil tendencies. It is this deep-seated moral fact that constitutes the eternal challenge for man and renders his life an unceasing moral struggle. Man is squarely charged with his efforts to overcome evil because he is unique in the order of creation, and has been endowed with the highest faculties of intellect and intuition in order to fulfill his mission as God´s vicegerent on earth.

In addition to the inner impulses mentioned above, man also encounters some external agents and prompters, both on the side of good and of evil. However, the truth that must be appreciated deeply here is that, ultimately, the decisive role in this respect is played by man´s own inner preference and choice. That is to say, the real nucleus of initiation and volition is the subjective-self itself. External forces can only partly instigate and encourage either in the direction of virtue and moral probity or in the direction of sin and immorality. Even Iblees (or Satan), the greatest instigator of evil, has no power to force a man to perform an evil deed. Although Satan waylays man from all sides, his machinations fail against really virtuous persons. To be sure, no man is immune from the Devil´s temptations — not even the prophets — yet it is within the reach of any man of true faith and will to resist and overcome these enticements. Thus the Qur´an states:

Verily, you shall have no power over My servants — unless it be such as are (already) lost in grievous error and follow you of their own will. (Al-Hijr 15:42)

Behold, he (Satan, the accursed) has no power over those who attained to faith and who put their trust in their Lord. (Al-Nahl 16:99)

These and some other verses of the Holy Qur´an clearly assert that Satan cannot force men to commit sin, and will address his erstwhile followers on the Day of Judgement thus:

I had no power at all over you; but I called you, and you responded unto me. (Ibrahim 14:22)

This shows that the real evil emanates from man´s own complex of desires, for Satan makes it clear that it is only by means of suggestions and insinuations (wasawis) that he was able to reach the sinner´s self; and had it not been for an already-existing evil disposition due to lust, anger, superstition or fanciful ideas, these temptations would have had no effect whatsoever. This, in effect, means that Satan never forces, nor can force, anyone to do evil but he only tries to entice or allure his potential victim. His enticement consists in presenting the immediate and superficial gains or pleasures of this worldly life, so that many people fall victim to these temptations, most of them temporarily but many permanently. The latter are termed by the Holy Qur´an the "friends" or the "party" of the Devil. Thus, Iblees is far more cunning and artful than strong, more sly and contriving than forthrightly challenging.

Similarly, on the other side, no preacher or instigator of faith and virtue — not even Prophet Muhammad (SAAWS) — could ever convert any person to the right path. And, surely, we cannot possibly imagine a better and more sincere preacher than our beloved Holy Prophet (SAAWS). Therefore, we read in the Qur´an:

(O Prophet!) you cannot give guidance to whom you please, but it is Allah who guides whomever He wills; and He is fully aware of all those who would let themselves be guided. (Al-Qassas 28:56)

According to several authentic traditions, the above verse relates to the Prophet´s inability to induce his dying uncle Abu Talib — whom he loved dearly and who had loved and protected his nephew from the leaders of Quraysh — to renounce the pagan beliefs of his ancestors and to profess faith in God´s unity. The Qur´anic statement " you cannot give guidance to whom you please" has undoubtedly a timeless import as well; it stresses the inadequacy and inability of all human endeavours to "convert" any other person, however loving and loved, to one´s own beliefs, or to prevent him from falling into what one regards as error and sin, unless that person wills to be so guided.

With regard to external tempters and motivators of evil, we all know that they are the friends and progeny of Iblees, from amongst both men and jinns. The Qur´an explicitly states:

Indeed, he (Satan) and his tribe (ilk) see you from where you cannot see them. (Al-Aaraf 7:27)

A tradition of the Holy Prophet (SAW), reported by Imam Bukhari (RA), also tells us that Satan so vigorously influences a man that he, as it were, penetrates his entire inner being just like blood that circulates in the whole body. In contrast with the all too common knowledge of external agents and motivators of evil, however, what is generally less appreciated is the truth that angels help and provide strength, tenacity and moral firmness to the true believers in this worldly life. Just like the hordes of Satan who, through their beguiling activity, tempt a man towards evil, the pure and holy angels provide inner peace and perseverance to believers in following the straight path of Islam and in the arduous task of establishing the sovereignty of Allah (SWT), i.e., in establishing the socio-political order of Islam. Both Almighty Allah (SWT) and His angels bless and give glad tidings to them, as is borne out by the following verses:

And remember when your Lord commanded the angels: I am with you; so give firmness unto those who have attained to faith (with these words from Me) I shall cast terror into the hearts of those who are bent on denying the truth ... (Al-Anfal 8:12)

(But) behold, as for those who say, "Our Sustainer is Allah" and then stand firm, upon them angels descend (saying): "Fear not and grieve not, but receive the good news of that Paradise which has been promised to you. We are your companions in the life of this world and (will be so) in the life to come. (Haa Meem Al-Sajda 41:30, 31)

Peremptory Factor or Argument for Islam (Itmam Al-Hujjah)

Now, we can easily discuss and expound the last point of the first portion of the subject under discussion. We have observed that although the basic internal motivators of evil and good are already given to man in the form of latifa-e-nafs and latifa-e-ruh, the really decisive grounds for moral and virtuous conduct are the cognitive faculties of the nafs, the inherent moral sense, and the power of spiritual apprehension. On the other hand, with regard to the external and objective impelling factors for evil and good, there are respectively the Devil (including all Satanic agents) and the angels (including all the angelic forces). But here again the decisive and peremptory role is played by Divine revelations, God´s messengers, and His revealed Books. Together, they constitute a peremptory argument from Almighty Allah (SWT) for man´s accountability, and leave for him no ground for excuse or ignorance on the Day of Judgement. The affirmation of all these doctrines is known as the belief in Prophethood (Iman bil-Risalah). We read in the Qur´an:

(We sent all) Prophets as heralds of glad tidings and as warners, so that men might have no excuse before God after the coming of these Prophets; and God is indeed Almighty, Wise. (Al-Nisa 4:65)

O People of the Book! Now (after a long time during which no messenger has come) there has come unto you (this) messenger of ours to make the truth clear to you, lest you say, "No bearer of glad tidings has come unto us, nor any warner," for now there has come unto you a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. And Allah has the power to will anything. (Al-Ma´ida 5:19)

From these two Qur´anic verses it becomes clear that the real purpose and objective of the advent of God´s messengers (or envoys) has been to establish conclusively and finally man´s responsibility to act as God´s vicegerent on earth and to follow His guidance in this life, and to leave no scope for excuses on the Day of Judgement. All excuses offered by man for his misdemeanor will be lame and of no avail.

The truth may be recalled here once again that just as the external motivators and instigators of good and evil have no real power or authority over a human being — they only motivate and inspire or tempt and seduce — the institution of Prophethood also works only as an agent of advice and exhortation. That is the reason why at most places in the Qur´an the function of prophets and messengers of God has been described as "heralds of glad tidings" and "warners" (Cf. e.g., Al-Kahf 18:56). And the oft-used expression employed for revelation and the Holy Book are zikr, zikra, and tazkira, all derivatives of the root z-k-r, meaning to recall or to remind (a forgotten truth). The following six quotations from the Holy Qur´an bear this out:

Behold! It is We who have revealed this Reminder, and, behold! It is We who shall truly guard it (from all corruption). (Al-Hijr 15:9)

Ta Ha; We did not send down the Qur´an to you to make you unhappy (or unsuccessful), but only as an Exhortation to all who stand in awe of God. (Ta Ha 20:1-3)

Nay, verily, these (revealed messages) are but a reminder (Abas 80:11)

Thus offering an Insight and a Reminder unto every human being who willingly turns unto God (Qaf 50:8)

In this, indeed, there is a Reminder for anyone who has a (wide-awake) heart, or who gives ear and listens with attention (i.e., who listens with a conscious mind). (Qaf 50:37)

And so, (O Prophet) exhort them; your task is only to exhort, you cannot compel them (to believe). (Al-Ghashia 88:21,22)

Tazakkur and its derivatives are very significant Qur´anic terms which mean recalling to mind the fundamental truths intuitively recognized and apprehended by the primordial human nature (fitrah). In essence, tazakkur pertains to the first stage in the comprehension of Divine realities and meanings. It also alludes to the fact that the Qur´anic teachings are not extraneous or alien to human nature. They actually reflect the experiences of man´s true inner self and are meant to awaken reminiscences of something already apprehended but forgotten, rather than to import something altogether new. God, in His infinite mercy, has sent His messengers and Books in order to reinvigorate the innate ethical perception of mankind and to facilitate moral choice and motivation.

The Holy Qur´an appeals to all thoughtful persons and men of discernment and comprehension to think and ponder over the outer universe of matter as well as the inner realm of the spirit, as both are replete with the unmistakable signs of the Almighty Creator. Along with these, it invites them to deliberate over the Divinely inspired verses or ayaat (literally meaning the "signs of God", because they too turn man´s mind to the Almighty). In effect, this means that with the aid of the Qur´an, full and intense awareness of the Absolute Reality springs up to man´s consciousness, just as a forgotten piece of memory rises up from the depths of the psyche to the surface of conscious awareness. The upshot of the ideas expressed in the above lines is that, through the advent of prophets and revelation of Books, an external witness for or against man has been established by Almighty God. On the Day of Judgement, prophets and messengers — who were sent to guide various communities or nations — will be brought forth as prosecution witnesses against their own people.

(O Muhammad, warn them of) the Day when We shall raise up a witness from among every community to testify against it, and We shall call you to testify against these people.... (Al-Nahl 16:89)

We have sent unto you a messenger to be a witness over you, just as We had sent a messenger to the Pharaoh. (Al-Muzzammil 73:15)

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is told by the Almighty that he is only a "warner" or a "reminder", and therefore "your task is only to preach", and "you are not a warden over them." The vocation of Prophethood, according to the Qur´an, is bearing witness to the Truth before men, in this world as well as in the world-to-come. The following Qur´anic verse substantiates it fully:

He has chosen you....so that the Messenger may be a witness (to Truth) before you and you might bear witness (to it) before all mankind. (Al-Hajj 22:78)

To sum up, the real mission and purpose of Prophethood is that, through preaching, admonition, advice, greeting and warning, God´s chosen messengers may establish a peremptory hujjah (or argument) for man´s accountability. The cover term for the entire prophetic activities is called shahada ala al-naas, i.e., bearing witness to the Truth before mankind. And that was, therefore, the foremost and the primary purpose of the advent of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), who is addressed thus in the Qur´an:

O Prophet, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good news and a warner, and as one who summons (all men) to God by His leave, and as a luminous lamp. (Al-Ahzab 33:45,46)

This means that, like all other prophets and messengers of God, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was also a preacher, a moral and spiritual mentor, a teacher, a warner, a bearer of glad tidings and a witness of Truth. Even though each prophet of Almighty Allah (SWT) had his own mark of distinction with regard to one or the other of these numerous aspects of the prophetic call, the truth of the matter is that the loftiest and most distinguished position among all the prophets is occupied by Prophet Muhammad (SAW). However, with regard to his position as the last and the final messenger of Almighty Allah (SWT), the splendour and magnificence of the prophetic mission of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is particularly distinct and unique, as will be made clear in the following section.

The most distinctive characteristic of the mission of the Holy Prophet (SAW) has been brought out by the Qur´an at three places thus:

He it is Who has sent forth His messenger with the Guidance (Al-Huda) and the True way of life (Deen al-Haq), to the end that he make it prevail over all aspects of living... (Al-Tawba 9:33; Al-Fath 48:28; & Al-Saff 61:9)

The important point of which notice should be taken here is that with respect to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), these words have been repeated at three places in the Qur´an without the slightest change or difference of construction, whereas these have not been revealed even once for any other prophet or messenger.

The famous scholar and mystic of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent — Shah Waliyullah Dehlvi (1703-1762) — has made this Qur´anic verse the subject of in-depth and extensive study in his book Izalatul Khafa un Khilafatul Khulafa. He has described it as the most important verse in understanding the purpose and mission of Muhammad´s Prophethood (SAW). Similarly, Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi (1872-1944) has taken this verse as the key for understanding the global revolutionary manifesto of Islam.

A careful study of the verse reveals that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has been sent by Almighty God along with two items: (1) Al-Huda or The Guidance, and (2) Deen al-Haq or the True Way of Life (sometimes translated as "the religion of truth"). Let us study these expressions more closely one by one:

Al-Huda

We would not be wrong to take the word in its wider literal sense, but if we are to try and understand the term Al-Huda in the light of numerous Qur´anic precedents, then it can only signify the Holy Qur´an itself. This is because only this very Divine Book is hudal lil-muttaqeen (guidance for the God-fearing; Al-Baqarahh 2:2), as well as hudal lin-naas (guidance for the ordinary run of people; Al-Baqarahh 2:185). The meaning of Al-Huda is thus elucidated in the following verses:

We have caused this (message) to be a light, whereby We guide whom We will of Our servants. (Al-Shura 42:52)

Verily, this Qur´an guides to the path that is most right. (Al-Isra 17:9)

(O Prophet) Say: It has been revealed to me that a group of jinn listened, then (returning to their folks) they said, "we have indeedd heard a wonderful Qur´an, which guides to the right way..." (Al-Jinn 72:1,2)

This point is further reaffirmed if we study the following verse where the purpose of sending messengers has been described in these words:

We sent Our messengers with clear instructions and bright signs and sent with them (Our revealed) Book and the Balance... (Al-Hadeed 57:25)

It is quite obvious that in this verse just as the word Al-Meezan has been substituted for Deen al-Haq, similarly, Al-Kitab has been used in place of the expression Al-Huda used in the verse under discussion. This proves the truth without an iota of doubt that in the context of Muhammad´s Prophethood (SAW), Al-Huda signifies nothing else but Al-Qur´an.

Deen al-Haq

Whether we take the complex locution as a relational compound and translate it as "Deen of Truth", or take it as a qualitative compound and translate it as "True Deen" (as has been done by the majority of the translators of the Holy Qur´an), its connotation and meaning remain essentially unchanged. Deen Al-Haq means Deen of Allah, because the true faith and the true way of life can be none else but that which comes from Almighty Allah (SWT). Similarly, the personification of "Haq" can be none other than Allah Himself, as the Qur´an says:

This is because Allah is the Truth. (Al-Hajj 22:6)

On that Day (of Judgement) Allah will pay them in full their just due, and they will come to know that Allah alone is the Ultimate Truth, manifest and manifesting. (Al-Nur 24:25)

This clearly shows that Deen al-Haq is, in real import and meaning, equivalent to "Deen of Allah." If we concentrate on the word Deen, we come to know that in Arabic language it connotes exactly what it means in Surah Al-Fatiha, viz., recompense, which is, of course, rewards of the Paradise in case of good deeds and torments of Hell-fire in case of bad ones. That explains the fact why in the early surahs of the Makkan period the word Deen is used in its core meaning of recompense; for instance:

Have you seen him who belies the rewards and punishments of the Hereafter? (Al-Ma´un 107:1)

Therefore (O Prophet!) who can belie you after this concerning the rewards and punishments of the Hereafter? (Al-Teen 95:7)

Nay, but they deny the rewards and punsihments of the Hereafter. (Al-Infitar 82:9)

In addition to Surah Al-Fatiha, the word Deen alongwith yaum has appeared at twelve other places in the Qur´an and it signifies the Day of Judgement and Final Reckoning. Again, as recompense (both in the form of reward and punishment) necessarily implies a law or code of conduct and its observance, the connotation of the word Deen also extended from its literal root meaning to a full-fledged Qur´anic term and initially meant obedience and servitude. Consequently, we read twice the expression mukhlis sal lahud-din, once the expression mukhlis lahu-deeni, and six times mukhlis seena lahud-din. And at all these places, it invariably means total, unconditional and exclusive obedience and submission to Almighty God. An element of intensity and emphasis is added to it through the additional use of haneefan or hunafa" The word Deen, however, finally assumed the full richness of meaning and implied a whole system of obedience and servitude. The pivotal position in this system of life is assigned to the person or being who is taken to be the supreme ruler and with reference to whom the detailed practical commands are laid down. This meaning of Deen is amply borne out by the following Qur´anic words:

Thus We supported Yousuf with Our plan; for under the king´s law, he would not have been (otherwise) able to detain his brother. (Yousuf 12:76)

In the kingdom prevalent at that time in Egypt, the king was the absolute sovereign and everybody submitted to his will. The Qur´an speaks of this socio-political system as deen al-malik. Exactly in this sense, it also speaks of Deen Allah — the Deen of Almihgty Allah (SWT) — in the following verse:

When God´s succour comes and victory (is attained), and you see people entering the Deen of God in large groups. (Al-Nasr 110:1,2)

This means that when Prophet Muhammad (SAW), after more than two decades of strenuous struggle, succeeded in establishing in the Arabian peninsula the system of life in which Allah (SWT) was accepted as the Supreme and Absolute Sovereign and people entered into this faith in great numbers, it was referred to by the Holy Qur´an as Deen Allah. From this perspective, it would not be inapproopriate to call the modern political set-up of Democracy (in which, at least theoretically, the people of a country are themselves the sovereign) as deen al jamhoor.

However, the Holy Qur´an also employs expressions in which Deen is attributed to somebody other than God, and this should be described as a metaphorical usage of the possessive pronoun/adjective, e.g., deeni (my Deen), dinukum (your Deen), or dinuhum (their Deen). This is obviously in the sense of the system or way of life;which one has accepted and adopted. This system of life and socio-political governance, so to say, is a person´s Deen. In this very sense, Islam is sometimes called Deen of Muhammad; e.g., in one of the popular prayers we supplicate thus: "O Lord, succour all those who support and promote the Deen of Muhammad." Of course, Islam is actually Deen of Allah, but it is also Muhammad´s Deen as it has been revealed and given to mankind through Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

To sum up, Deen Allah is that system of belief and action which is based on the basic premise of total, absolute and unconditional submission to the commands of Almighty Allah (SWT). And this, in fact, is the Al-Meezan. After progressing gradually through the vicissitudes of history, Divine guidance finally culminated in the most comprehensive and balanced system of life as revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The Islamic way of life represents the ideal system of social justice and equity wherein the duties and rights of all are clearly laid down, "in order that the humanity may stick to, and behave with, Justice."(Al-Hadeed 57:25)

The Wisdom in the Timing of the Last Prophet´s Advent

A deeper consideration will reveal the truth that the point and wisdom in the temporal location of the culmination of Prophethood and imparting perfection to the revealed system of life can also be appreciated with reference to these two expressions viz., Al-Huda and Deen al-Haq. Indeed, the time of the advent of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was the period of human history in which humanity moved from infancy to mental maturity in two respects.

First, just before the appearance of Islam and its revealed Book, man had reached rational maturity and had conceived and spelled out all types of philosophies he could think of solely on the basis of his reason. The late Professor Yousuf Salim Chishty (d. 1984), a great scholar of religion, philosophy, theology and mysticism, was of the opinion that twelve hundred years, i.e., from 600 B.C to 600 C.E., is the span of history in which human thought and intellect progressed from infancy to maturity. All major world religions as well as all of the influential philosophical shcools appeared during this very period. Though, in later centuries, physical sciences have progressed trememdously and the range of man´s general information has expanded immensely, no essentially new idea has been expressed in the realm of metaphysical thought and philosophy, and neither a new religion nor new thought-system or philosophical school has appeared during that period. Ideas and thoughts expressed in pompous phraseology in modern times are, in fact, nothing more than echoes of older philosophies. Indeed, even though they are wrongly presented as novel thoughts or fresh ideas of the most original variety, they are, in reality, like old wine in new bottles.

Now, if all this is true — and there is no ground whatsoever to challenge this thesis — it becomes quite understandable that 7th century C.E was the most appropriate time for the revelation of the last Divine Guidance in the form of Al-Qur´an for the whole mankind and for all times to come. The protection of its text is guaranteed by Almighty Allah (SWT) Himself, so that it could serve as a permanent source of guidance in thought and action. That is the reason why the Qur´an asserts the following very explicitly:

Say: If the whole of mankind and jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur´an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed each other with help and support. (Al-Isra 17:88)

And, time and again, it offered the whole mankind a challenge in these words:

And if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed to Our servant, then produce a surah like thereunto. (Al-Baqarah 2:23)

It is a pity that so far Qur´anic scholars have mainly focused on the literary and stylistic beauties of the Holy Book and its linguistic and rhymic excellences. Whatever scant attention was paid to the meaning-content of the Book was too, by and large, misguided and misconceived in so far as either Aristotelian logic or half-baked scientific theories were made paradigm of truth in the light of which attempts were made to understand the Qur´an. Little did they realize that the Qur´an could not possibly accept these ever-changing strait-jackets. The truth should be clearly borne in mind that the Holy Qur´an is essentially Al-Huda and its real magnificence lies in its guidance for thought and practical life; and that it was given to man at a time when his independent thought, as such, had reached its zenith and he had, so to say, attained mental adulthood and maturity.

The second point of wisdom in the timing of the last Prophet´s advent seems to be the fact that the social consciouness of mankind had also reached maturity in the 7th century C.E., in that human polity had experienced all the major evolutionary stages. After passing through the social polities of tribal organization and city state, human life had entered the phase of great kingdoms and empires. This, in fact, meant that the hold and domination of socio-political system on human life had reached its full intensity for the first time, and that man had begun to face the vexed and multi-dimensional problems of human society and collective life. Moreover, the time was about to usher in which humanity had to encounter such unsolvable issues — as those of the Individual versus Group, Man versus Woman, Capital versus Labour — and in the solution of which human thought moved from one extreme to another, always adding to human travail and misery.

Therefore it was quite in the fitness of things that, at this satage of human history, Almighty Allah (SWT) bestowed upon man the most balanced system of social justice and equity that was really Al-Meezan and offered the best and the most excellent solutions for all the intricate issues and problems of social existence. In all spheres of collective life — social, economic, and political — the God-given system of life guided humanity to the straight path and the most balanced middle way, putting an end to social perversions or discrimination, economic exploitation and political repression. And thus the sole purpose of sending prophets and revelation of Books — which was to guide the people to live with equity and justice — was fully realized in the advent of the Last Prophet and a concrete example was set for all times to come through the completion of the true faith, as the Qur´an says:

This day I have perfected your Deen for you, completed My favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your Deen. (Al-Mai´dah 5:3)

Le-yuzhira-hu

Now, let us take another step forward and try to understand the meaning of the Arabic expression le-yuzhira-hu used in the Qur´anic verse under discussion. The literal meaning and connotation of the verb izhar — to make dominant — is accepted by all scholars and experts of Qur´anic sciences. However, there are more than one opinion in respect of the subject and object of the verb izhar, though these differences of opinion cause no real change in the essential meaning of the verse.

According to some scholars, the subject of the verb izhar is the same Being Who is also the subject of the verb irsal — to send — i.e., Almighty Allah; in this case the translation would read: "He it is Who has sent forth His messenger ... to the end that He, i.e., Almighty Allah, make it prevail over all aspects of living..." Some others maintain that the implicit subjective pronoun in the expression le-yuzhira-hu refers to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), in which case the translation would read: "He it is who sent forth His messenger ... to the end that he, i.e., the Holy Prophet, make it prevail over all aspects of living..." Both interpreters have taken recourse to finer subtleties of Arabic grammar in support of their respective positions, but the question that clinches the matter is this: What real difference does either position make in the over-all purported intent of the verse? As Muslims, we all believe that the final and real agent for all actions is none other than Almighty Allah (SWT). Despite this basic metaphysical belief, all imperatives in the Qur´an are directed and addressed to human beings living in the world of facts, and it is incumbent upon them to leave no stone unturned in performing their religious obligations. That is why we see that the Holy Prophet (SAW) struggled very hard all through his prophetic career for making Islam triumphant and dominant. That is to say, in the world of objective facts, the Prophet had to carry out an extremely arduous struggle for Islam at a purely human level, although we believe that the ultimate and real causal agent of all actions is always Almighty Allah (SWT). The Qur´an categorically asserts thus:

So the fact is that (O Believers) you did not slay them but Allah slew them, and (O Prophet) you did not throw (the sand) but Allah threw it. (Al-Anfal 8:17)

Would those who are, through minor difference of interpretation based on feeble arguments, trying to distort the whole concept of religious obligations think about the far-reaching implications of their standpoint! The truth of the matter is that, on the basis of a trivial point, they have wrongly absolved themselves of the Qur´anic obligation of making Islam dominant as a politico-socio-economic order in the world. They should try to honestly consider as what would have happened if the Holy Prophet and his Companions had taken the above quoted verse in its apparent literal sense. Obviously, they would have forthwith given up their struggle for the cause of Islam and the subsequent world history would have been radically different from what it is. Moreover, would it be possible for anyone of us to have embraced Islam, the true Divine faith?

Indeed, we should always try to be on guard against the seductive trappings of Satan, in particular his master deception that causes us to see as superfluous, burdensome, or frightening that which is really one of the basic obligations of all faithful. Is not the attitude of complacency exhibited by these misguided interpreters of the Holy Qur´an identical with one depicted in the proverb "A bad workman quarrels with his tools"?

The whole matter is quite clear to anyone who endeavours to think with an unbiased mind. Surahs Al-Tawba, Al-Fath, and Al-Saff — the three surahs which contain the verse under discussion — are all concerned mainly with the subjects of Jihad (or struggle and effort) and Qitaal (or armed conflict) in the cause of Almighty Allah (SWT). In particular, Surah Al-Saff is entirely, from the beginning to the end, on the theme of struggle and war in the way of Allah. And in this, immediately after the verse under discussion, a clarion call has been made in an extrememly motivating manner for Muslims to girdle up their loins for the cause of Islam. First, the question is put to believers whether they wanted themselves to be saved from grievous suffering. And then it is said in clear and unambiguous terms that this can only be achieved by undertaking the hard and arduous tasks of struggle and armed strife in the way of Almighty Allah (SWT). The verses in full read:

O Believers ! Shall I point out to you a bargain that will save you from grievous suffering? That you believe in Allah and His Prophet, and that you strive (your utmost) in the cause of Allah with your property and your lives; that will be best for you if you but knew. (Al-Saff 61:10,11)

It is truly a wonderful bargain; what we are asked to give is so little, what we are promised in return is so much — only if we knew the eternal truth, and understood the comparative value of things — the sacrifice of our fleeting pleasures and gains for Divine mercy and forgiveness, His love, and eternal bliss. In reward of struggle and war in the cause of Islam we get Almighty Allah´s unbounded bounty and munificence. Later in this surah, Almighty Allah (SWT) assures the believers of victory in this world too. On top of it all, the believers who endeavour for Islam with zeal and zest are regarded as helpers of Allah (SWT) and the Prophet (SAW). If a man does not enter into this bargain, he will not even rid himself of grievous suffering, let alone seek loftier spiritual rewads and blessings.

This, in effect, means that the whole issue is quite simple and understandable. Islam is Deen of Almighty Allah (SWT) and to make it prevail in this world is essentially the duty of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Now, the acid test for the sincerity of a person who claims belief in both of them — in Almighty Allah (SWT) and Prophet Muhammad (SAW) — is whether or not he strives his utmost in the cause of Islam with all his energies, capabilities, wealth, and life. If he thus "helps" Allah and His Messenger, he will attain eternal success and bliss. Otherwise, he will face condemnation and torments of Hell-fire in the life to come. This is stated very clearly in verse 25 of Surah Al-Hadeed, part of which has already been quoted above. The translation of the full verse is as follows:

We sent Our messengers with clear instructions and bright signs and sent with them (Our revealed) Book and the Balance in order that the humanity may stick to, and behave with, Justice. And We sent down iron which has great strength and other benefits for men. This has been done so that Allah may know who helps Him and His messengers, unseen. Sureley, Allah is Strong, Almighty. (Al-Hadeed 57:25)

Similarly, Surah Al-Saff ends with this call:

O Believers, be helpers (in the cause) of God, even as Jesus, the son of Mary, said to his disciples, "who will be my helpers (in the cause) of God?" (Al-Saff 61:14)

If one does not accept this immaculately clear view of the Islamic obligation (regarding the struggle to establish the Deen of Allah) based on self-explanatory propositions, he will do so at his own peril.

It may be mentioned here that there is a difference of opinion about the referent of objective pronoun hu in the expression le-yuzhira-hu. According to some interpreters and exegetists of the Qur´an, it refers to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), and, according to some others, it refers to Deen Al-Haq. Again, this makes no real difference in the meaning and import; the victory of the Prophet is not to be taken as his personal or his clan´s or tribe´s victory. Rather, it means the dominance and triumph of the Faith which he preached tirelessly, and established, in letter and spirit, throughout the whole of the Arabian peninsula.

Alad-deeni Kulli-hi

This expression of the Qur´anic verse has been variously translated as "over all false religions" and "over all Deen." It is quite significant that the plural form of the noun Deen — which is Adiyyan — has not appeared in the whole of Qur´an even once. Moreover, the emphasis connoted by the expression kulli-hi, in addition to the verse already noted, appears at only one other place in the Holy Qur´an, as follows:

And fight against them until there is no more oppression and all Deen belongs to Allah alone. (Al-Anfal 8:39)

Here, to translate Deen in the plural as Adiyyan will be quite wrong; to say that all religions can belong to God is an utter travesty of truth, whereas directing and devoting all sincere worship and obedience to One Almighty is an important Qur´anic theme which has been expressed repeatedly in nearly identical words. With this significance of the locution Deen in mind the real import of the verse under discussion becomes very obvious; that is, the purpose of the advent of the Last Prophet (SAW) is that he should make the Deen of Allah dominant over the whole way of life and with regard to all collective institutions. One can therefore translate this part of the verse as "...to the end that he make it prevail over the entire Deen, i.e., over all aspects of living...."

It is important at this juncture to understand logically and rationally as to why establishing Deen or making it dominant was at all essential. This was for two reasons: First, Deen by its very nature demands its establishment and domination over all the spheres and institutions of life. A way of life — particularly one based on total submission to God Almighty — is meaningless and contradictory if it is not implemented and put in practice. This by itself makes Deen quite radically different from a mere religion in the contemporary Western sense of the word. A religion is, in fact, a fragmentary or a partial affair and can exist under any Deen, which is identifiable with the dominant politico-socio-economic order of a given land. At the time when Islam was dominant as a Deen, we find that Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism and Buddhism survived under its domination as religions, and their followers were forced to accept the Qur´anic injunction "... they agree to pay the exemption tax (jizia), and remain humbled." (Al-Tawba 9:29). Similarly, reduced and attenuated to the status of a private affair, Islam existed during the Colonial era as a mere religion.

Deen, on the other hand, is a total and integrated whole, and it has no reality or efficacy until it is practised in toto and held supreme over all spheres of life, including that of the political authority itself. As a matter of common sense, two different Deens — that is to say, two different politico-socio-economic systems — can never co-exist; thus, the co-existence of Monarchy and Democracy or Capitalism and Communism on a par with each other in the same country is just not possible. However, their co-existence is conceivable only in case one of them maintains its authority as the dominant system of the country, while the other yields and allows itself to be reduced to the level of a ritualistic and non-assertive religion.

In respect of the difference between religion and Deen, two points should be clearly borne in mind: (1) the Arabic word for religion is madhhab, which has not been used at all in the Qur´an, nor has it been used in the whole corpus of Hadith in its present commonly understood meaning. It came to be used much later quite rightly to connote various schools of juristic thinking, e.g., Hanbali madhab, Maleki madhab, Hanafi madhab, etc, which are in reality branches or developmental variants of that part of the faith of Islam that deals with law or Shari´ah. (2) Though, in matters of details, the revealed law or the Shari´ah given to Prophet Musa (AS) and Prophet Muhammad (SAW) shows numerous points of divergence, yet the essentials of Deen have remained identical right from Prophet Adam (AS) down to Prophet Muhammad (SAW). This point is elucidated by the following Qur´anic verse:

The same Deen has been ordained for you as that which He enjoined on Noah, the one which We have sent by inspiration to you (O Prophet), and that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: namely, that they should establish this Deen and make no divinsion therein. (Al-Shura 42:13)

The second reason why the establishing of the Deen of Allah is so vital is this: irrespective of its excellence and instrinsic worth, a given system of life will never rise above the level of a fantacy or a daydream unless it is established in the world of reality so that everyone can see its merits, instead of just hearing and reading about them. For Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the actual establishment of Islam´s dominance over all social structures and institutions was essential to prove its viability and practicability; otherwise even this matchless and most outstanding system of life would have been taken as a mere utopia. And surely, utopias never convince people at large. The Prophet´s duty of furnishing a "Witness to the Truth" for people and leaving them no excuse of ignorance would have remained undischarged until the whole politico-socio-economic system of Islam — including its law or Shari´ah — were translated into concrete facts. That is why the Holy Prophet (SAW) and his Companions (RAA) endeavoured to their fullest in their strenuous struggle to achieve the domination of Islam, which blossomed and flourished during the period of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. In this golden era of pristine Islam, the ideal moral values preached so far only in sermons — values like human freedom, fraternity and equality — were turned into real and objective facts, and this feat has been authentically recorded in history and acknowledged by world historians.

H. G. Wells, the eminent British author and historian who otherwise shows disrepect and insolence towards the personal life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), acknowledges in his A Concise History of the World that although high-sounding and idealistic sermons were frequently delivered in favour of values like human freedom, fraternity and equality, no attempt was ever made to put them in practice; the moving sermons of Jesus of Nazareth being a case in point. According to Mr. Wells, it was Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who, for the first time in human history, established an actual social order based on these high moral values. Thus, we see that even an enemy of Islam is forced to acknowledge the marvelous superiority of the prophetic career of our Holy Prophet (SAW), not only in the capacity of a preacher and a sermonizer but also as the architect par excellence of the Islamic polity.

It was this success of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his devoted Companions (RAA) — in establishing Islam as a Deen — which proved the fact that all the higher abstract values can indeed be put into practice. In the family system, it was shown how women can have a status of high respect and dignity and enjoy their rights even though an administrative authority was given to the husband. In the political setup, it was proved that the individual´s complete freedom of speech and criticism can co-exist side by side with strict political regimentation and discipline, as well as with all the demands of justice. On top of this, it was shown that, in the economic sphere, private ownership and personal initiataive are perfectly compatible with smooth circulaltion and equitable distribution of wealth. Without accomplishing all this in practice, a conclusive proof would not have been established in favour of the Islamic way of life for the men of the age that began with the advent of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

Just think of any good or social value, and you will find it realized supremely and in the most balanaced form in the system of life established by the Holy Prophet fourteen centuries ago. Indeed, one feels that in the realm of social justice and equity, human thought and endeavour has throughout only tried to reach near or approximate to the lofty ideals set by the Prophet´s revolutionary struggle, and in no sense surpass them. That is the reason why in the present century, during the freedom struggle for India, the Hindu leader Mr. Gandhi asked his co-nationals to keep before themselves the models of the governance of Abu Bakr and Umar (and not those of Ramayana and Maha Bharata, or Bikrama Jeet and Chandra Gupt Moria). Gandhi expressed these thoughts in his own magazine Harijan in 1937 at the time when ministries were formed for the first time in British India, and since Muslim League had boycotted the 1936 elections, the Congress had formed ministerial cabinets throughout the Indian subcontinent.

The completion of Divine guidance and finality of Muhammad´s Prophethood logically necessitated that he, in addition to variegated missionary and soul-purifying and character-building activities, organize a revolutionary party of highly committed and dedicated men, and that, after defeating all forces of evil, actually establish and operationalize the Deen of Allah in its totality. This constitutes the summatory character of Prophet Muhammad´s mission which assigns to him a unique and privileged status in the galaxy of Divine messengers.

The Leader of Revolution

We will no doubt be guilty of irreverence if we consider Prophet Muhammad (SAW) comparable to other leaders of historical revolutions in the world. But, nevertheless, it is a fact that no one in the entire human history deserves the title of "leader of revolution" more than Prophet Muhammad (SAW). This is because all revolutions witnessed by mankind — including the French and the Bolshevik Revolutions — were partial and imperfect, as they affected only some part of the collective human existence. Thus, the French Revolution brought change in the political structure and the form of government, while the Bolshevik Revolution mainly changed the economic setup of Russia. On the other hand, the Islamic Revolution of the 7th century C.E was a total and absolute transformation which affected all aspects of life. Everything changed. Right from the basic metaphysical beliefs to the ethical value-structure, from the eating and drinking habits to the dynamics of interpersonal relations, from the rites and rituals for worship to ceremonies and customs, and from the social setup and economic system to the political order and statecraft — all underwent radical changes. Indeed, this was a Revolution in the true sense of the word.

The Revolutionary Struggle

The endeavor and struggle of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to bring about the Islamic revolution too was unique and unparalleled in the entire human histoy, in so far as all the variegated stages of the revolutionary process were completed in one man´s life span. There is on other instance in world history in which a propounder of a revolutionary ideology — starting from theoretical dissemination and going through all the phases of organization, passive resistance, challenge, and armed conflict — successfully brought about a revolution. This, in fact, is the most remarkable feat of our beloved Prophet (SAW) that, starting the mission of making Islam dominant from his individual self, he established the "Kingdom of Heaven on earth" within a brief span of twenty three years (of lunar calender) so that Islam was practiced in its totality, both in letter and in spirit, throughout the length and breadth of the Arabian peninsula.

Now, we would like to discuss two important points which link up with ideas presented in the above lines. The first point is about the short-sightedness and errorneous judgement of Western shcolars vis-à-vis the revolutionary struggle of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), while the other relates to the ummatic obligation of Muslims with regard to completing the mission of the Holy Prophet.

The Misconception of Western Writers

The Western "scholars" of Islam and the orientalists who have published a number of books on the life-history of the Holy Prophet (SAW), have generally erred in their over-all assessment of the Prophetic mission.

The main reason for their misunderstanding is that they did not at all appreciate the culminatoy and summatory character of his prophetic mission. They do have a vague notion of the basic and primary objectives of the prophetic call, and hence they feel that a prophet may at best be a preacher, a mentor, a teacher, a reformer and a warner. But as they are not clear about the finality of Prophethood and the summatory character of Prophet Muhammad´s mission, they cannot possibly imagine a prophet as a statesman, a commander of fighting armies, and an administrator. They just cannot swallow the fact that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) performed all the above mentioned functions, that he was both a preacher and a statesman. Finding it difficult to reconcile mentally all the capacities of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), some openly repudiated his Divine messenger-ship and only acclaim him to be a great leader. Others had recourse to very naive and foolish theses.

Thus, in the words of Dr. Michael Hart, "he [Prophet Muhammad] was the only man in history who was suprememly successful on both the religious and secular levels." Arnold Toynbee maintains that "Muhammad failed as a prophet and succeeded as a statesman." Montgomery Watt speaks of the Prophet as "one of the greatest sons of Adam", but, unable to harmonize the "secular" with the "religious", he has, very wrongly, divided the life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) into two disparate and disjointed phases, hence the titles of his two books are "Muhammad At Makkah" and "Muhammad At Medinah." The insinuation here is that the personality of the Prophet at Makkah was entirely different from his personality at Medinah. All this, in fact, is the result of a fundamental misconception regarding Prophet Muhammad´s Divinely ordained mission as the last of all prophets.

The Ummatic Obligation of Muslims

The vital question that a true Muslim must ask himself is this: Did Prophet Muhammad (SAW) himself fulfill the prophetic mission assigned to him by Allah (SWT) completely and in all respects? Or has that mission to be continued and carried out by Muslims to its completion at the global level? If we concede the turth projected in the latter question, can we really accomplish this gigantic task merely by celebrating annually the prophet´s birthday with devotion and fervor and by eulogizing his life and character traits? The right answer to this is definitely in the negative.

We Muslims must understand very clearly the all-important corollary of the belief in the Finality of Prophethood with the advent of Muhammad (SAW). That the institution of Prophethood has reached its zenith means that there will be no more prophets, and, therefore, the responsiblity for the task executed by the chain of prophets has now been placed on to the shoulders of the Muslim Ummah. In respect of both types of duties — those pertaining to the basic purpose of Prophethood, which is preaching, and those related to the consummatory nature of Muhammad´s Prophethood, which is establishing the Deen of Allah in its totality — the responibility lies with those who take pride in belonging to the Muslim Ummah and who adore and eulogize the Holy Prophet.

All convinced and committed Muslims must realize that, since after Prophet Muhammad (SAW) there is going to be no prophet for the guidance of mankind, Prophet Muhammad´s mission has therefore acquired the following two-fold direction and significance. Firstly, he is the Messenger of Almighty Allah (SWT) to his contemporary Arab people (in particular) and, secondly, he is also the Messenger to the entire humanity till the end of the world (in general). It is stated quite clearly in the Holy Qur´an (Al-Jum´ah 62:2,3) that the Prophet (SAW) was sent unto both the unlettered people (ummiyeen) and unto all the people belonging to other lands and future times (akhereen). The latter aspect of Muhammad´s Prophethood stresses the universality and timeless validity of all that was revealed to him. In a sermon already referred to, the Holy Prophet (SAW) addressed his audience thus:

Verily, I am God´s Messenger unto you people in particular and unto all mankind (of other lands and of future times) in general. (Cf. Sermons of the Holy Prophet, reproduced in Nahjul Balaghah)

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) executed and fully achieved the target envisaged by the more immediate or "particularized" aspect of the prophetic call in his own life time, through the myriad activities of preaching and disseminating the Truth as well as persistent active struggle and even armed conflicts, in making Islam the supreme and dominant force in all of the Arabian peninsula. In this struggle, the Holy Prophet (SAW) and his Companions (RAA) had to put up with all sorts of opposition, verbal and physical persecution, slander and mental anguish, conspiracies and armed attacks, vilifications and disinformation campaigns. Prominent landmarks in this arduous struggle include the confinement in the Sheb of Bani Hashim, the extremly insulting treatment and physical assault in Ta´if, the ordeal of hiding in the cave of Thaur while the Prophet and his Comanion Abu Bakr were chased by the Quraysh, the migration to Medinah, and the battles of Badr and Uhad and Khyber and Tabuk; the Holy Prophet (SAW) was forced to see hundreds of his devoted and cherished Companions martyred in this struggle, including Mus´ab Ibn Umair and Hamza (May God be pleased with them). But without faltering a bit, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his Companions (RAA) endured all the hardships and tribulations with patience and persevarence, and continued to work persistently for the exection of the Divinely ordained mission, until Islam gained ascendancy in all walks of life and the Qur´anic values and laws were implemented at all levels.

The climax and finale of the prophetic mission came at the pilgrimage performed by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in 9 AH, when he addressed a mammoth gathering of Muslims at the Hajj Congregation and asked them whether he had fully transmitted to them the Truth. In reply, all testified that he had indeed communicated the Truth, that he had conscientiously discharged the duty entrusted to him by Almighty Allah (SWT), and that he had worked for their spiritual well being in the best possible manner. Only a few months later the Holy Prophet (SAW) left this world for the Heavenly abode. Now, in the light of the following Qur´anic verse:

He has chosen you....so that the Messenger may be a witness (to Truth) before you and you might bear witness (to it) before all mankind. (Al-Hajj 22:78)

the execution of the prophetic mission at the global level is the obligation of the Muslim Ummah as a whole. In the pursuance of this very objective the noblest of the Prophet´s Companions, i.e., the four Rightly Guided Caliphs, carried the banner of Islam on his behalf to the wide world outside the Arabian Peninsula. Indeed, Islam reigned supreme in its pristine excellence on a vast area of the then civilized world, and the obligations of witnessing to the Truth before mankind, preaching the message of Almighty Allah (SWT) and making Islam dominant as a system of life were discharged with utmost dedication for almost three decades. Thereafter, the Deen of Allah experienced a slow and gradual decline till it reached its lowest ebb in the first quarter of the present century.

Starting as an ideology believed in by a handful of people, Islam became the rock-bottom foundation of a whole world civilization. Now it has been reverted back to a position in which very few Muslims genuinely and whole-heartedly adhere to its dictates. We have, however, seen that Almighty Allah (SWT) demands of us a struggle and persistent endeavour to re-establish the link between faith and power, bringing both of them into a single unified whole.

So let us passionataely involve ourselves in our society to do His will, and still more passionately let our hearts yearn for His pleasure. Let the life of the Prophet energize our ambitions and priorities. Let his message be our message, let his conduct be our conduct, and let his goals be our goals. Let nothing motivate us but an intense longing to please our Lord in the world to come, and let this expectation and desire give a dicisive impetus to our life in this world.

The hope of meaningful future must make us bold enough to confront the risks and endure the pains that lie in living by God´s will. We, as Muslims, have but one option: to strive to change the world to conform to the model given to mankind by Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Any other choice will only betray our hypocrisy.